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A Black Friday shopping report published by Localz' partner Urban Airship, showed that the number of customers shopping online via mobile phones increased this year, whilst, in-store and desktop shoppers were fewer than Black Friday last year. Upon viewing this report, we can see that retailers sent more push notifications to catch customers’ attention and as a result, they received higher responses from customers.
Black Friday 2015 saw retailers starting promotions earlier, and they were advertising offers and discounts more frequently in contrast to previous years. Retailers realised that in order to increase sales this Black Friday, they had to spend more time and effort in advising customers about upcoming bargains. For example, Amazon showed upcoming deals and when they were going to be available for customers to buy.
Additional lessons from previous years saw retailers improve their customer services during Black Friday 2015. According to the Urban Airship’s report, retailers sent 63 percent more push notifications this year compared to 2014. They understood that communicating with customers and sending them relevant information about recent offers was crucial. As a result, the number of customers who engaged with push notifications increased from 16 percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2015. For example, Domino's push notifications not only informed customers about discounts but described exactly what the bargain was. This made it easier for customers to decide whether to order or not.
According to the Urban Airship’s report, one-third of all app opens during Black Friday 2015 came from a push notification. Customers wanted to find out what retailers had to offer. With retailers sending over 78,000,000 push messages this Black Friday and highly increasing the number of in-app messages, they were able to reach more app users, whether opted-in or not. This resulted in sending 152 percent more in-app messages compared to last year. Replying to enquiries, providing information straight away about discounts and engaging with customers were key during the busiest sales day of 2015.
Further findings from the report showed that the amount of daily app downloads has increased with 21 percent around Black Friday period this year. Customers were attracted by app-exclusive deals, general marketing or in-store holiday promotions.
Mobile has become the primary choice for Black Friday shoppers. As the Urban Airship’s report suggested, retailers have realised that in order to meet customers’ expectations, they need not only a solid app but also a corresponding push marketing campaign enticing shoppers to buy. By sending engaging and relevant push notifications, retailers have a bigger chance to attract customers. This applies not only for a Black Friday strategy but also for every day approach to improve customer experience.