Black Friday Sale: Boom and a Boon for E-commerce!
Meha Savla
Everything can be discounted during a Black Friday Sale, but not a good user experience. Here are a few UX ways to ensure that the Black Friday traffic doesn't affect the performance, but enhance every part of the shopping experience!
Doors to the annual shopping extravaganza are about to open, and the customers are waiting to barge right in. While traditional brick and mortar play a significant role in Black Friday sales, there has been a steady shift towards online shopping. So much so that in 2022, Black Friday saw a total of 197.6 million shoppers, with 72.9 million in store and 124.7 million online shoppers!
Widely established as a global phenomenon, this annual shopping experience significantly impacts the e-commerce industry. Black Friday sale presents a golden opportunity for online retailers to boost sales, but also brings with itself a unique set of user experience (UX) challenges. It is a double-edged sword, not only for the online shoppers but also the retailers.
On one hand, Black Friday offers a chance to:
Increase revenue: The rise in sales maximizes the business’ profits,
Drive traffic: Black Friday sale is popular for its massive discounts and promotions, which attract a surge of online shoppers.
Build brand loyalty: A positive shopping experience sets the foundation for long-term customer relationships.
However, on the other hand, Black Friday also results in:
Overwhelming traffic: A heavy increase in website traffic can lead to slower loading times and system crashes, resulting in an unpleasant user experience.
Complex discounts: Multiple offers, coupon codes, and promotions at the same time can confuse users during their purchase.
Increased expectations: Due to the widespread access of Black Friday sales, shoppers expect seamless, efficient, and smooth user experiences.
How Experience-driven Design Makes Black Fridays Successful
A well-designed experience can help e-commerce businesses navigate the complexities of Black Friday, and balance the challenges with a smooth user experience. It is a combined effort of design and development, where a good user interface is backed with well-built functionalities. Here’s how experience-driven design can serve good shopping experiences to millions of Black Friday shoppers:
Enhanced product search
Users come to the website with different types of intents. Implementing advanced features like sort, filter, and auto-suggestions can cater to a variety of needs and enable direct search functionality for the users. With the onset of artificial intelligence (AI), businesses can also leverage AI-powered recommendations to suggest relevant items personalized to the user’s preferences.
More intuitive navigation
Understand that the users are in a hurry to find the best deals. A complex navigation structure is the easiest way to lose their interest. The users should be easily able to find what they’re looking for, without any hassle. With a simplified site structure and prominent call-to-action buttons, guide users towards desired actions. Provide detailed product descriptions and high-quality images along the way, to make the journey more holistic.
Seamless checkout process
Users seal the deal at the final stage of checkout, which serves as a make-or-break situation. Reduce friction as much as possible, with minimal form fields and a streamlined checkout process. Offer a variety of secure payment methods, such that the user has different payment options to choose from. And remember, no surprises here. Ensure that the shipping costs and delivery timelines are as transparent as possible. For businesses looking to explore international waters, enabling cross-border payments is vital for smooth transactions.
Optimized website performance
A good user interface (UI) is best brought to life with a functional website in the backend. Since the website traffic is high during the sale, it is important to ensure fast loading times and carry out the best practices to ensure that the pages load quickly. With nearly 50% of the website traffic coming from mobile devices, responsive design optimized to various devices becomes a must. Finally, to deliver a smooth experience, scale a robust server infrastructure that can handle increased traffic.
Delightful user experience
The final touch that completes any experience is delight. Use interactive elements like animations, videos, and product demos to catch the user’s attention. Make the experience more engaging with personalized recommendations and gamification to make shopping more fun and rewarding. Black Friday sales bring happy experiences, make them happier with delight!
With a focus on these key areas, e-commerce businesses can not only survive Black Friday sales but thrive well through it. Turning a chaotic shopping frenzy into a seamless, enjoyable, and smooth experience for customers is all the user wants one fine (Black) Friday!
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