Using Shopify Analytics to prepare for Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Last year Shopify merchants brought in $6.3Billion on Back Friday & Cyber Monday. Shopify Analytics can help you plan for this big event, using trends and reports from your history can plan ahead to ensure your sale runs smoothly with your supply chains and avoid shipping delays. Preparation starts with ensuring your business operation is in good health for executing your big weekend promotion. You can learn from your Black Friday in 2021 and apply it to the upcoming one, and the same for the Cyber Monday Sale.

Give your business an audit

Checking and analyzing business health is a good starting point in your planning, so any demand strain is not crushing your sales. Looking at analytic overview dashboard in your Shopify Store admin area, where Total Sales, Total Orders, Store Conversion rate, Average order value and top products sold can be reported on. With the comparison periods feature which has recently been introduced, you can compare the above areas to see how your performance has fared.

Stock Take, actual, projections

An accurate stock take is very important in both planning ahead and ensuring that the key products either popular, loss-leading products, or promotional products that are in high demand have understood trends for the event. You might be promoting Apple Airpods for example on Black Friday and an Apple TV as the deal on Cyber Monday. Your Supply Chain Management has to be solid for stocking up accurately and being able to fulfill your orders. Using the Pareto Principle where 20% of your products factor in as 80% of your revenue, therefore all your 20% of products need reviewing. Clearing out less popular items to stock up on the ones that will sell is the best preparation strategy between Labor Day and Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

Running an ABC Analytics will give you the top 20% product, so getting the 80% of products that aren't big sellers are easily identified. Using the run-through rate to see how your products will reach a zero inventory, gives you an idea of how you can reach a lean inventory on your 80% of slow sellers - to ensure you still have stock. Using the comparison periods feature you can compare the slow sellers if they up-ticked during the Back Friday & Cyber Monday Sale in 2021, thus giving you the room to ensure you still have enough stock of these as you lean out your slow sellers.

Your inventory analysis will give you a solid supply & demand picture of what is to come. You must take into account additional economic factors, competition, supply chain issues, and anything that might be affecting your goods and services in your planning.

Amplify what works and phase out what doesn't

Through analytics, you can iterate and monitor your performance as sales take hold during the big event. Keep in mind that on your Black Friday deals how you promoted the previous year has to factor in. So if you had free shipping for Shopping online, then customers might expect the same this year. If you pre-sold gift cards with a discount code before the big weekend, then they might expect the same again. Monitoring the customer demand, and instilling a minimum purchase for free shipping to increase the basket value will ensure that your Black Friday Sales will reach your targets. Customers are very sensitive to shipping costs, so motivating them to maximize their basket reduces repeat purchases for larger orders. Thus less shipping costs and larger sales.

Conclusion

This is a good time for preparing your online store, and your inventory and ensuring that your analytics give you a good projection and help you prepare for your Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales. It is one of the most important times that impact your overall year, and executing the event with the least amount of issues is key. If you need any assistance in navigating your admin area for these reports, give us a shout at wish@thegenielab.com.