Countdown to Black Friday 2024 Begins: 3 Tips for Retailers

Black Friday is back. It’s that time of year when eager shoppers take to high street stores and online shopping in search of the best deals. Black Friday is the traditional curtain raiser for the wider festive period, which carries through into January sales. It may be a chaotic time of year, but it’s a crucial period in the calendar that provides retailers with huge opportunities to maximise sales and growth. They must respond to not only meet but exceed consumer expectations.

Black Friday has huge potential to drive sales and is an opportunity for brands to build relationships with new consumers while strengthening existing ones. As a result, if merchants’ Black Friday sales are executed correctly, they will have created strong foundations that deliver both short-term sales and long-term customer loyalty.

During this epic sales event, retailers must ensure that they are delivering high-quality experiences that align with customer needs. Deploying the right tech can be a stepping stone in the right direction to solidify consumer experiences and strengthen relationships. During such a critical time, this can be the difference between success and failure.

To help retailers succeed during Black Friday this year, we have outlined three key tips which are essential to drive sales during this shopping period.

1 – Enabling Smarter Decision-Making

The retail industry is a fast-paced environment with changing trends and patterns. Throughout Black Friday there is a flow of constant change in terms of product stock, orders and store performance. Leveraging analytics and reporting tools in retailers’ tech stacks can provide them with the ability to act faster, make sales predictions quicker and maximize opportunities through better preparation.

One key tip for retailers for this year’s Black Friday is to not go in blind. Equipped with the best analytical tools, retailers can create effective decision-making that enhances performance during the Cyber weekend. Decision-making is one of the most significant aspects of retail when it comes to finding success.

Teamwork Commerce’s reporting and analytics tools supply retailers with accurate insights that assist with in-the-moment decisions. The tech allows retailers to track stock levels, sales performance and supply chain sustainability in real-time. The system provides retailers with automated reports and alerts that provide data on demand. If stock levels drop to a certain threshold, teams are informed and can take action to ensure they avoid stockouts.

On a broader level, the technology can also create a full image of store performance that allows brands to measure every metric needed to assess performance. Placing this into one easy-to-read dashboard, retailers can accurately interpret their Black Friday data and take decisive actions immediately.

2 – Tackling Tedious Stockouts

Once a retailer’s analytics and reporting tools are in place, they can gain control of their in-store operations. With our next tip, they can do the same with their supply chain – with inventory management control.

One of a retailer’s biggest drawbacks during busy periods – and a significant customer frustration – is stock availability and stockouts. Managing inventory effectively during Black Friday weekend will put brands on the path to success. Keeping shelves filled, which both ensures happy customers and maximizes sales opportunities, retailers can deploy item-level RFID, which enables them to accurately track all products from manufacturer to shop floor.

Teamwork’s RFID-powered stock counter app provides retailers with complete accessibility to stock levels from all locations across all channels. This allows merchants to remain on top of their stock availability, and provides them with the power to accurately and effectively prepare for weekend sales.

The Android Bluebird RFID Scanner App, in conjunction with Teamwork Commerce, allows retail associates to conduct stock checks in a matter of seconds, while providing them with complete visibility of inventory both in back rooms and on the shop floor. With real-time visibility of stock, retailers can track inventory levels as stock is sold. As products on the shelves sell, in-store associates can replenish effectively and quickly, maximizing sales opportunities. Meanwhile, with stock counts only taking seconds to complete, in-store associates can reduce their time spent in back rooms, and can dedicate more effort towards delivering high-quality customer experiences on the shop floor.

3 – Soothing Customer Chaos

Finally, control the chaos. Customers are the main puzzle piece to retail… right? Therefore, it is necessary for retailers to ensure they fully understand and anticipate their customers’ wants and needs to facilitate the best shopping experiences.

Retailers should constantly be on the lookout for the next best way to improve their strategies. The shop floor across Black Friday can be chaotic, from impatient customers to unreliable checkout systems. It can get messy.

The key to success is fast, seamless and consistent transactions that can keep up with demand. Teamwork Commerce’s RFID-powered self-checkout solution restores confidence and provides retailers with high-tier, reliable technology that supports day-to-day transactions across the shop floor. With RFID-powered self-checkout, customers simply place their items in a designated area on the kiosk. RFID readers scan all items, immediately, with full accuracy. Customers don’t need to spend time scanning individual items. Instead, they can quickly pay, with the transaction completed in under 30 seconds. This results in reduced queue times, enhanced customer experiences and faster transactions.

Another consideration during Black Friday is that theft can pose an issue for retailers. According to Statista, 15% of small business owners in the US claimed they suffer from retail theft every day, and one in four small business owners said they lose between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. RFID tags are capable of triggering in-store alarms and are only deactivated once transactions are complete. As a result, any items that pass through security barriers that have not been paid for immediately alert teams to any theft attempts. Not only does RFID facilitate high-quality inventory accuracy and seamless transactions – it can play a key role in battling theft.

Guarantee Success

In order to succeed this sales season, having the right tools in place for effective decision-making, enhancing customer experiences and staying on top of stock availability will define retailers’ success. High-quality experiences during busy periods go a long way to creating trust between retailers and their customers. Black Friday presents a unique opportunity to maximize sales over Cyber Weekend while creating long-term relationships.

…Good luck!

Want to find out more about how Teamwork Commerce’s efficient technology can support your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales? Click here.