How Retail Stores Plan Their Merchandise During the Black Friday and CyberMonday 2023

Retailers are responsibly preparing for the season of holidays and sales. And there really is a lot to think about and take care of. The customer experience and impressions determine whether or not they will buy and return to your store.

Black Friday sales start the day after Thanksgiving in the US (this year it's November 24) or a few days before and last for about a week. It's the start of the Christmas sale season. Therefore, retailers often actively promote their stores and cut prices to encourage customers to buy online and offline items.

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday, with promotions targeting online shoppers. Prices are usually reduced during these four days of sales: from Black Friday to Cyber ​​Monday. Some companies offer different types of discounts for each day of sale.

This period is usually the busiest for retailers. At the same time, shoppers wait for discounts and actively monitor prices to allocate their purchases. And retailers are preparing to take on large numbers of customers and spreading out promotional offers.

In Ukraine, retailers are also preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Retail is a competitive field, so problems always arise. The matter is where to find solutions to problems and overcome difficulties. Technology is helping retailers automate complex processes. It is critical to customize the merchandising process. The way the merchandise is available on the shelves determines whether customers will see it.

The main rule of any sales in the store is on-shelf availability, and visiting the store during this period should be special.

The PlanoHero platform is an entire ecosystem for automating the merchandising process. With PlanoHero, retailers can set up a process to create planograms with advanced automatic display rules, send them to stores, monitor planogram compliance, and analyze the effectiveness of each product placement.

Statistics show that the majority of consumers abandon online purchases after a failed search on the site. Also, more than half of shoppers leave a physical store if they can't find the product they want.

Therefore, the most important task for retailers should be to understand what the customers need and how to help them find the product, especially before holidays or sales. Customers who are able to find the right product will be the starting point of your success.

If, in addition to a physical store, you have an online store, then take care of the compulsory availability of the necessary goods on the Internet.

But how can retailers prevent shortages or surpluses?

The answer is simple. They should competently manage the assortment and carefully prepare for sales and promotions. It is necessary to attract buyers with a relevant and attractive layout and to convince those who have not yet decided on the need to purchase. The PlanoHero platform will help you effectively set up all these processes and automate the merchandising process.

How to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Develop a Discount and Sale Strategy

Determine what you will offer your customers. Analyze your target audience and find out what products are most in demand in your store. Research your competitors. What are they offering to their customers? How do they organize sales?

Choose Products for Discounts

You can't discount all items if you want to drive sales. Determine the items that will be on sale on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Don't choose out-of-season items. They are unlikely to be bought. Prepare top-selling assortment for your customers.

Purchase Items in Advance

Order the most popular categories beforehand. Find out about better deals from suppliers.

Train Your Staff

Train your employees and make them aware of promotions and discounts. Don't forget incentives and bonuses. Revise employees' work schedules. You may need to increase your staff for the sale period temporarily, so take care of additional employees.

Proper Merchandising

During this difficult period, every retailer must ensure that customers have easy access to merchandise and avoid crowds on the sales floor. Proper placement of retail equipment is essential here. Don't clutter up the room. It is better to temporarily remove all unnecessary stuff. Make room for promotional items. They should be in the most prominent place. Try the PlanoHero platform to set up an effective display of promotional items on store shelves.

A few ideas for attracting customers' attention to Black Friday sales:

1. Time-Limited Discount. Such promotions are suitable for retail chains with high visitor traffic. The idea is to attract customers to the sale, which will take place at a specific time (for example, within 2 hours). You announce the start time of the maximum product discount and prepare for the flow of customers.

2. Gifts. The most popular way to get customers' attention is to offer a gift when they buy a certain item. Or offer a discount on the purchase of a set of items.

3. Continue Discounts for Another 1-2 Days. Retailers can get more sales and customers by extending the duration of the sale.

4. Social Media and Advertising. Don't forget to advertise your discounts and sales online. Use targeting, contextual advertising, and retargeting.

Effective merchandising and marketing will help you place your products well on the shelves and tell about your discounts and promotions through all known channels: online advertising, email newsletters, and promotional materials in stores.

Final words

Last year on Black Friday Ukrainians spent most on home appliances and electronics. This year, because of the war, the Ukrainians' spending on gifts will decrease significantly. However, the most necessary things will continue to be in demand.

Consumers will not stop buying, but what they buy has changed: less reckless buying and more spending on the essentials, such as food and fuel.

And what will retailers get after Black Friday sales in their stores?

• increase in sales and profits;

• increasing customer loyalty;

• increase in the client base;

• liquidation of the old inventory.