Success during Black Friday requires more than just discounting—it’s about refining your approach on the fly. Here’s how you can stay ahead, maximise your results, and set your business up for long-term growth as the shopping frenzy unfolds.

Dynamic Pricing: Balancing Margins with Sell-Through Rate

While deep discounts drive Black Friday traffic, optimising your pricing strategy in real time can mean the difference between increased revenue and eroded profits. The key is to strike a balance between maximising margins and achieving a strong sell-through rate.

• Monitor Margins Closely: Use data to track the profitability of your products in real time. If an item is selling fast but at a steep discount, consider slightly adjusting its price to protect margins. Conversely, for slower-moving inventory, further reductions can help maintain momentum.

• Prioritise High-Margin Products: Highlight and promote items with strong margins. Bundling these products with lower-margin items can boost sell-through rates while maintaining overall profitability.

• Adjust for Stock Levels: As stock diminishes, evaluate whether to increase prices slightly to preserve inventory or maintain discounts to drive sell-through. For overstocked items, greater markdowns might be necessary to clear inventory.

• Use Strategic Discount Tiers: Offer tiered discounts—e.g., “Buy one, get 10% off; buy two, get 20% off”—to encourage larger basket sizes while managing margins effectively.

Campaign Optimisation: Keep Your Momentum Going

Your campaigns are live, but the real work starts now. Adjusting your approach as the week progresses is essential to ensure your efforts remain effective and aligned with customer behaviour.

• Revisit Your Ad Spend:   Monitor performance metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates. Reallocate budgets to the channels and creatives that are delivering the best results, and pause or adjust underperforming ads.

• Prevent Ad Fatigue: Fresh creative elements can reignite interest in your campaigns. Switch up visuals, tweak headlines, or introduce new calls-to-action to maintain engagement.

• Personalise in Real Time:  Leverage data to send tailored messages to different customer segments. For instance, follow up with those who abandoned their carts, or nudge high-value customers with exclusive offers.

• Engage Directly on Social Media: Use your social channels to share updates on deals, stock levels, and even behind-the-scenes content. Quick responses to customer queries can build trust and drive immediate sales.

Data-Driven Decisions: Agility Meets Insight

In the world of Black Friday, data is your most valuable asset. Real-time insights allow you to adapt quickly, make informed decisions, and keep your customers happy.

• Spot Trends in the Moment: Analyse website traffic, product views, and sales patterns as they happen. Use this information to highlight trending items or optimise product pages for your top-performing categories.

• Combat Cart Abandonment Dynamically: Cart abandonment is common on Black Friday. Use automated recovery emails or SMS campaigns to re-engage shoppers, offering incentives like free delivery or extra discounts to seal the deal.

• Maximise Peak Periods: Identify when your customers are most active and align your promotions with these times. Peak shopping hours are prime opportunities for flash sales or additional email sends.

• Monitor Stock Levels and Adjust Accordingly: Keep a close eye on inventory. Promote popular products aggressively to capitalise on demand, but also be ready to shift focus to other items as stock runs low.

Capturing New Customers and Their Data

Black Friday is not just about short-term sales; it’s a chance to build long-term relationships with a new audience. Many customers making purchases this week may be engaging with your brand for the first time. Don’t waste the opportunity to capture their data.

Encourage newsletter sign-ups, loyalty programme enrolments, or account creations during the checkout process. This isn’t just about growing your email list—it’s about gaining insights into your new customers’ preferences and behaviours. With this data, you can create personalised follow-ups and targeted campaigns that keep these shoppers coming back long after Black Friday ends.

This week isn’t just about short-term wins; it’s about setting the stage for the new year. By activating the data you capture now, you can drive meaningful engagement, strengthen loyalty, and maximise the lifetime value of your new customers. (We’ll dive deeper into data activation strategies in our next blog—stay tuned!)

Amid the chaos of Black Friday, customer experience remains a key differentiator. Shoppers remember how you make them feel during this busy period, and a seamless experience can turn a one-time buyer into a loyal advocate.

Black Friday as a Catalyst for Growth

Black Friday is more than a single event—it’s a turning point. The data you collect, the new customers you win, and the loyalty you nurture can set the tone for your business in the months ahead. By staying proactive and using data to inform every decision, you can make the most of this critical week.

Success during Black Friday isn’t about being the loudest or offering the deepest discounts. It’s about listening to your data, responding to your customers’ needs, and creating experiences that resonate. With agility, insight, and a customer-first mindset, you can turn Black Friday into more than a sales spike—it can be the foundation for long-term growth.  

If you’d like to chat to us about how having your data neatly integrated to facilitate the optimisation of key trading periods like Black Friday, we’d love to help. Give us a shout on hello@thedatarefinery.co.uk, or book a meeting with us below.