Black Friday and Cyber Monday are on the horizon, and with record-breaking spending becoming the norm post-Thanksgiving, small businesses have a pivotal opportunity to boost sales, attract new customers and create memorable shopping experiences. While the stakes might feel high, taking advantage of a few strategic tips can help small business owners survive and thrive this busy season.
Based on observations from more than 20 million small businesses that GoDaddy serves, here are four tips to help your business have a successful and seamless Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year:
Accept Contactless Payments
The pandemic accelerated contactless payment adoption, and according to a 2022 Insider Intelligence report, contactless spending per user is projected to reach $7,827 by 2026. For context, in October 2023, 62% of in-store transactions done on the GoDaddy Smart Terminal were contactless. Many consumers will turn to tap payments, digital wallets and mobile apps at checkout for in-person and online shopping this season. Small businesses should adopt contactless payment solutions ahead of Black Friday to meet the growing demand and remain competitive.
Consumers gravitate toward contactless payments because they are quick and convenient, but they benefit small businesses, too. Accepting contactless payments like digital wallets can speed up the amount of time customers spend at the register, which is especially helpful during the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping. And with credit card fraud on the rise, digital wallet payments provide an extra layer of protection and help further secure checkouts.
If you aren’t already accepting contactless payments, you can easily upgrade your point-of-sale (POS) device. Focus on “smart” POS terminals that will grow with your business.
Overall, upgrading and modernizing your business’s payment solutions enhances your customers’ experience. It reflects a commitment to staying ahead of the curve, adapting to changing market demands and being ready to meet consumer preferences.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Users
Gone are the days when a business’s website was a nice-to-have. Today, it’s not about whether you have a website, but whether you have a beautiful, easy-to-navigate and, most importantly, optimized website for mobile experiences.
According to Zippa, 60.9% of the U.S. population are mobile buyers, and that’s expected to rise in 2024. If that wasn’t convincing enough, that same report shows 40% of Cyber Monday sales come from mobile devices. Consumers have spoken: They prefer to shop on their phones, and if you’re not providing a seamless mobile shopping experience, you are losing business.
By optimizing business websites, a casual browsing experience can quickly become a transaction with a new customer.
Start Selling on Social
The rise of shoppable social media, like Instagram shops and LTK, has also changed how consumers buy products and services. In fact, a new PYMNTS survey found 43% of consumers browse social media to find goods and services, with Facebook, Instagram and TikTok seeing the most conversions.
Nowadays, your small business needs more than a social media presence to stay competitive. Consider adding commerce to your social pages and enable your followers to buy directly from social platforms. If you’re not sure where to start, check if your website provider supports selling across social platforms and marketplaces. There are website builders that set your website up in the backend so you can start selling on social platforms with just a few clicks.
Elevate Customer Experiences with AI-Powered Chatbots
With auto-generated personalized playlists, push notifications from apps and targeted ads, consumers are used to experiencing tailored recommendations in other areas of their lives—so they expect their online shopping experience to be no different. Let AI help you with this!
Incorporating AI-powered chatbots into your business’s website gives your customers a more personalized experience, directing them to best-selling products and offering recommendations as they navigate products and sales. However, AI chatbots can also provide you with supplementary customer support and automate selling tactics that would otherwise be manual and time-consuming, helping you save time so you can handle the holiday rush.
Enhancing your business’s customer support offerings will set your company apart from competitors. A chatbot might feel like a minor website add-on, but it can empower your customers and position you as the tech-savvy, customer-centric retailer to beat this Black Friday.
The holidays can be a stressful time, and for new small business owners, Black Friday and Cyber Monday may feel particularly overwhelming. But with the right tools and preparation, business owners can easily automate marketing tactics and provide better customer experiences that elevate business efficiencies while keeping customers happy.
Charles Feng, director of engineering at GoDaddy, has worked tirelessly to give small businesses superpowers through innovative commerce tools for over a decade. He currently oversees several products in GoDaddy’s Commerce lineup that make it easier for small businesses to accept payments and are equally as convenient for consumers, including Pay Links, Payable Domains, contactless point-of-sale experiences and more.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday stock image by Master1305/Shutterstock
