From Black Friday to the holidays: How to price in high season?

November to December is a particularly important period for e-traders. What to look out for during the high season and what mistakes to avoid? Fruzsina Donáth, Head of Business Development at PriceKit, was interviewed by Róbert Kulcsár, Senior Consultant at Shoprenter, and we have a selection of his findings below.

The high season, from Black Friday to the end of the year, is a period that cannot and should not be ignored as an e-trader. Campaigns during this period have a number of prerequisites: in addition to cleverly designed offers and a creative, and prepared customer service team, it is important to pay attention to compliance with the new pricing legislation. While there is a lot to do, inflation and high energy prices are complicating factors... In this context, the question is: how can you, as an e-trader, get out of this situation well, i.e. how can you create a strong and effective campaign in a crisis?

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMERS

"We are operating in the midst of a number of counter-effects at the moment," says Fruzsina Donáth, "The pandemic has hit the e-commerce market hard, and that has also brought serious challenges, and now this strange expectation is making retailers think, as shopping habits may change due to the economic situation. There will definitely be demand from shoppers during the peak season this year, but perhaps what will change compared to the past is how visitors will browse and shop.

Presumably, there will be less impulse buying that was more common in the past, as most people try to be more conscious of buying what they really need. Many people are also preparing for Black Friday with a shopping list, collecting in advance what they want and what they need. What we as e-traders need to be aware of is that during Black Friday we can cater not only for purchases targeted for 25 November but also for the entire festive season.

Fruzsina stresses that it is recommended to start with the customers:

"Shoppers start looking before Black Friday, so they know roughly what the original prices are and what they will see discounts against later. They are also more focused on communication, so it's recommended to "flash" an early discount - examples of this are often seen.

YOU CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT PLANNING

There is a lot riding on the high season, so it is not advisable to promote without thinking, without planning. Obviously, people will look at the good deals, but they don't just look at those!

“I would advise retailers to do their maths properly before Black Friday and the high season: look at which categories and which products are worth promoting at what level, so that you don't end up with a loss this period.

There are many practical methods that can be used at this time.

One example is a bundle discount: a volume offer that is made cheaper by the fact that the products are bought as a pre-packaged bundle rather than individually. An added advantage is that you don't have to buy all the products in the bundle separately, but they are offered together at a discounted price.

But we could also mention the offer of relevant complementary products (cross-sell), or when a complementary service is proposed for a given product, or when a higher-priced version of the same product is offered instead of the selected one (upsell).

- These solutions should be used much more strongly and cleverly during the high season because they help to increase the value of the shopping basket," says Fruzsina Donáth.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK

It's worth thinking about your stock levels, and how much of what you're stocking before the peak season. People also like to shop around Black Friday because it's almost certain that presents will arrive before Christmas.

It's always a good idea to be prepared for the fact that price changes, and even stock changes, can happen more frequently than usual during this period, so it's worth keeping an eye on this.

The download speed of the product page should be a priority and it is also recommended to review it from an SEO point of view. Make the product page easy to read, and pay attention to strong product descriptions, and quality photos.

Mobile searches have increased significantly in recent years, so check how accurately and quickly your site can be accessed on mobile.

HOW CAN AN AUTOMATED PRICING SYSTEM HELP?

For an e-trader, it is important to keep an eye on competitors' prices, stocks, and changes, but doing this manually on a mass scale takes a lot of time from staff. This task can be easily automated with PriceKit, and by using the system, the e-trader can react quickly to changes in the market and maintain the desired price position.

In addition, PriceKit provides another useful feature to support the e-tailer's work: warning reports to help you comply with the legislation on promotional prices! So if you hear "no price promotions allowed" anywhere, don't fall for this misconception - it is allowed to price promotions, as long as you follow the right laws!