Back in Black: Online Store and the Big Day

No, it’s not a Vincent Price movie. “Black Friday” is the name anxious retailers have given to the day after Thanksgiving, when holiday shoppers hit the malls in greater numbers (we hope) than on any other day of the year. The “Black” stands for black ink—handy for warding off creditors. While it doesn’t actually rank first in sales—most industry analysts place it fifth—Black Friday draws the most traffic retailers will see all year, and that’s no less true for Internet retail, which saw the highest number of online shoppers tracked by the Index thus far during holiday season 2004, with 26 percent more shoppers, or 13.3 million people, visiting online stores on November 26 than the previous Friday, November 19 according to Nielsen//NetRatings, which further reported online shopping jumped 11% the day after Thanksgiving 2004 as compared to 2003. (2002 saw online shopping on Black Friday jump 36 percent over the previous Friday, with the Toys and Games category seeing a 39 percent increase. ComScore Networks Inc. reported total Internet sales for the Friday after Thanksgiving reached $151 million, a 40 percent increase from 2001.)

“Even diehard holiday shoppers that weather the Black Friday crowds at sunrise know to research the Web for product selection and price comparisons before heading out to the mall,” said Ken Cassar, director of client analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. “Online shoppers deluged the Web sites of their favorite brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online retail resources.

eBay was the top online shopping site the day after Thanksgiving with 5.4 million unique audience. Amazon followed with 2.6 million, while Wal-Mart Stores saw 1.4 million shoppers. Rounding out the Top 5 sites were Target and BestBuy.com with 923,000 and 847,000 unique audience, respectively. ToysRUs came at number 10 with 642,000 visitors. (Nielsen//NetRatings Top Online Shopping Destinations, Nov. 26)

The day after Thanksgiving saw Toys and Video Games taking the largest jump, growing 152 percent in visitors at home as compared to the previous Friday, according to the Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index Consumer Electronics spiked 94 percent in traffic, while Shopping (nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_041129.pdf)

Comparison/Portals rose 75 percent. Computer Hardware/Software and Books/Music/Video rose 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

According to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, “The power of the day depends on the category of business you are looking at. Some products, such as toys that are the hot item, will tend to sell heavily on Black Friday. If the consumer is not brand/product specific, they will wait until the key items go on sale.”

In Internet retail, the concept of a “sale” is made moot by a retail environment where prices fluctuate moment-to moment, and shoppers have a global selection at their fingertips. However, good service can make the difference in cyberspace just as it does in the harried realm of face-to-face holiday shopping. Vividence, a consulting firm specializing in improving the online shopping experience, compiled 10 tips for creating a retail site that will make e-shoppers glad to have skipped the mall frenzy.

1.) Save Customers’ Shopping Carts. Many online shoppers place something in an e-basket, then get cold feet or decide to check out the competition before buying. Many will return to your site looking for that special something that—as they now know—only your store offers. Save your customers’ shopping cart items for 30 days to make it easy for them to continue shopping where they left off.

2.) Offer Promotions or Incentives to Purchase. Most specialty stores can’t match mass retailers on price, so use your ace in the hole: service. Free shipping, gift-wrap or cards can make the difference.

3.) Display Shipping Prices Early. Shipping costs are one surprise no one wants to unwrap. Let customers choose a shipping option with their purchase, and have the cost clearly visible in the shopping cart.

4.) Make Site Registration Optional. Time is short during the holiday frenzy -- who has time to fill out a tedious registration form? Let them go from cart to checkout without interruption.

5.) Offer a Charitable Donation Tie-in. We all feel more generous at this time of year. Customers will feel better about maxing out their Visa if they know part of their debt is going to a good cause.

6.) Replenish Stock. No one has the time to check back in a week to see if your site has finally restocked the item they’re looking for. Make sure your top sellers are on the shelves, or give customers a date that the item will ship when it arrives.

7.) Provide Order Tracking. It will give your customers piece of mind and reduce the number of “Where’s my Stuff?” calls to your store.

8.) Shorten the Checkout Process. Don’t make them go through five pages of entry fields -- one is more than enough.

9.) Be Clear About Delivery Time. Shoppers need to know whether their procrastination has necessitated overnight or two-day delivery.

10.) Provide Paper Gift Certificates. Customers prefer paper to e-mail, and gift certificates often influence purchases.

December 2004 Toy Watch list:

ToyDirectory.com (R) tracking softwares indicates unusual interest in the following products by consumers who use the Internet to research toys before making purchasing decisions.