Online customer behavior on Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Cyber Week
Published: October 10, 2024
Customers want to stay informed about discounts, have a set budget and often will act on impulse - so make sure to cover all your bases.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Cyber Week are the start of nearly every holiday shopping season and it has become a global phenomenon – but how do customers behave and shop during this time?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Cyber Week are a global trend
On November 29th, Black Friday will yet again see a surge of sales offers and increased holiday shopping.
According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (PDF), covering different countries (e.g., US, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, etc.), 95 % of consumers are aware of Black Friday and 86 % are aware of Cyber Monday. Awareness has increased drastically in the last few years, mainly because local stores and online shops have adopted Cyber Week practices.
Customers love to hunt for deals – and you can support them
According to payment provider Klarna, even inflation and other economic hardships are actually drivers of the success of Cyber Week. 43 % of surveyed customers take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to shop for the holidays to save money.
Read here, how to make use of discounts to drive revenue.
Customers are also highly interested in information about sales and price drops. It’s therefore the perfect time to push and market your newsletters, apps, and wishlists / memberships right around now to prepare your customers and inform them of attractive deals.
A smooth experience guarantees revenue
To make sure that your shop is ready for Black Friday, you need to look beyond marketing and logistics. Don’t forget to check how reliable and scalable your shopping environment and especially your payment solution is.
The Billwerk+ payment gateway is known to be a steadfast solution with an incredibly high reliability. We’ve retail juggernauts as customers, so we know how important a smooth payment process is.
Additionally, we make your Black Friday experience ready for international customers by offering 50+ one-time and recurring payment options.
See for yourself. Test the payment gateway for free (no credit card required for signups).
Impulse vs. planned shopping
A report from marketing automation provider Klaviyo shows that customers are nearly split in half when it comes to impulse and planned shopping during Black Friday – and some customers do both.
- 68 % say that they will very likely make an impulse purchase.
- 59 % plan their Black Friday purchases at least one month in advance.
Adding up these two numbers shows that at a considerable amount of customers is likely to plan ahead but also tends to shop impulsively when the time comes.
Testing company UNGUESS and fintech Scalapay also found out that the budget for Italian, Spanish and French customers who planned their Black Friday shoppings comes up to circa 250€ on average.
Has online beat stationary Black Friday shopping?
The same study showed that the majority of survey participants preferred online shopping to stationary stores. It is quite likely that the usually chaotic images of American Black Friday customers might deter European customers from entering a shop but it’s also very likely that the convenience, transparent product selection and stress-free environment might be much more attractive – especially given that online shopping is available 24/7 opposed to store opening hours.
Your e-commerce checklist for Black Friday
Download our guide to help you succeed on Black Friday.
We provide you with a checklist, market insights, use cases and a lot of best practices to properly manage your customer journeys, optimize your marketing efforts and make sure to check on your basics, so there’s nothing in the way of generating revenue and gaining new customers.
