Skyrocket Your White Friday Sales in KSA: Proven Strategies

Offers… discounts… promotions…

Online stores in Saudi Arabia and around the whole world are competing to increase White Friday sales in an attempt to make up for what was missed throughout the year.

Imagine that just one month can make the biggest difference in increasing your store’s sales, as reflected in the tremendous increase in sales during this season. For example, White Friday sales in Saudi Arabia in 2021 witnessed a staggering 308% increase compared to regular days.

This is due to a common trend among consumers who delay their shopping plans until the start of the White Friday sale season to take advantage of the fierce competition between all stores and brands to get the best deals and save as much money as possible.

We implicitly agree that the season is massive, the competition is ruthless, and you need to prepare from now and start immediately by announcing your offers and discounts to attract as many customers as possible and achieve higher sales.

Now, the question is,

Why Should You Promote Your White Friday Deals in Saudi Arabia Early?

Because a study has shown that half of Saudi shoppers delay any purchase decisions close to the Black Friday date.

And simply, this is what the vast majority of stores and brands do. It’s not a waste of resources or marketing budget, but an attempt to stay at the forefront of the scene and reap the most benefits.

Let’s take a quick example of one Saudi store specializing in handmade sweets and pastries, “Dyafat Rateel.”

What did they do?

If you browse the online store, you’ll find that it’s currently dominated by White Friday deals, promoted in every corner of the store, with special and diverse designs prepared for this special occasion.
You’ll also notice a strong emphasis on the free shipping offer, highlighted in various places on the page, whether in text or integrated into the designs.
You’ll find a special White Friday offer at the top of the page.
All of this, along with a dedicated section in the main menu containing discounts, placing it at the beginning of the menu, and coloring it differently from the rest of the store’s sections.

Now, let’s talk about paid ads.

As of the moment of writing this article, the store has launched over 18 paid ads for White Friday deals on Instagram, and all of them are active.

You’ll notice that the store started running these ads on October 31, more than 25 days before White Friday. 👇

The store also has an active advertising campaign on Google, albeit not directly associated with White Friday. This multifaceted approach demonstrates the store’s efforts to reach its audience across various platforms.

Now, the questions are,

What will you do to promote and increase your store’s sales during the upcoming White Friday season?
What are the latest trends and effective strategies for promotion these days?
What methods yield the best results for retailers?

Proven Ideas to Increase Store Sales on Black Friday

Color the Friday Your Unique Color

Initially, it was indeed “Black Friday,” but it has become “White Friday” out of respect for the sacred Friday. You, too, have the freedom to color it green, as the “Careem” brand did, or yellow, like the iconic e-commerce platform “Noon” in Saudi Arabia, or red, as “Alsaif Gallery” did, or you can choose any color you like.

In the case of “Noon,” one of its executives stated in a previous interview that during its “Yellow Friday” sales campaign launched in 2019, Noon’s weekly revenue increased eightfold. The average customer conversion rate on the e-commerce store and mobile app also doubled. The number of items purchased increased, and the average shopping cart value rose by 50%. The average time spent by shoppers on the website tripled.

Approximately a year later, the “Faces” store followed in Noon’s footsteps, dubbing its Friday as “Pink Friday.” All of its designs and advertising campaigns were characterized by a pink theme, distinguishing this advertising campaign from its previous and subsequent ones.

Here’s a creative example of one of the store’s advertisements,

Of course, you’re free to leave Friday black as it is, as colors may not matter as much as the fundamental value the customer will receive.

Offer Something Different or a Larger Discount Than Before

Saudi Arabia experiences various occasions, the most recent being National Day. Your store might have its own special occasions to celebrate with customers, such as your store’s launch day. It has become customary for stores to utilize these events and provide gifts to customers in the form of different discounts and offers.

Now, what if your customers have grown accustomed to your offers?

That’s the challenge.

Let’s think together and place ourselves in the customer’s shoes. On your founding day, you offered a 50% discount, for instance, and on National Day, you offered a similar discount, whether greater or lesser. The same applies to Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

If you plan to follow the same approach during the White Friday season, you might lose a lot. Your customers might think you’re not introducing anything new.

So, what new value have you brought to them in this fiercely competitive season?

Here, you need to plan your advertising campaigns and promotional offers throughout the entire year. Create a detailed plan that encompasses all your offers and their percentages.

Ensure that the discount percentage for White Friday is greater than any other discounts, or consider presenting a completely different offer that isn’t primarily discount-focused.

The key here is to make sure your offer for this season stands out from other seasons.

Here’s an example from “Alsaif Gallery” that may be helpful in this regard. Although this advertisement wasn’t for White Friday, every word in it represents a professional promotional way you can follow and implement as is, testing its results on your store.

Be Generous and Don’t Settle for Just One Discount or Offer

Look at this screenshot from the “Sun & Sand Sports” store. You’ll find a single offer that includes four different discounts: a basic up to 60% discount and additional discounts when you reach a certain purchase amount or use a specific payment method.

You can also follow the “New Offer Every Friday” approach, which means you start your offers gradually at the beginning of November and provide your customers with different and diverse deals throughout the month. These could include:

Discounts or price reductions.
Free shipping.
Buy one product, get another free.
Buy three products for the price of one.
Create product bundles with a comprehensive discount on all of them.

Facilitate Payments and Offer Installment Options

The feeling of guilt or hesitation that may accompany making a large one-time payment due to its impact on an individual’s monthly budget or planned finances is what often leads people to rethink their purchasing decisions.

So, what can you do to make your customers buy more without hesitation and overthinking, which may otherwise cause them to back out of a deal or reduce the items in their shopping cart?

The answer is simple:

“Offer them the option of installment payments.”

Imagine the confidence that comes with the decision to purchase when you provide your customers with payment systems that allow them to split their payments and pay them in easy installments over spaced intervals.

Furthermore, give them the freedom to determine the number of months for payment if possible. If you haven’t implemented this payment method in your online store, it’s time to start now.

Here’s an example from one of the e-commerce stores that offer two different options for installment👇

Scare Your Customers

“Special offer for only one hour”
“Discount on limited products while supplies last”
“The countdown has begun”
“Limited stock available”
“Last chance to get the discount”

All of the above are phrases used to invoke fear in hesitant customers, encouraging them to complete their purchase out of fear of missing an opportunity that may not repeat – although it often does repeat.

Even though customers are now aware of many psychological influencing tactics on their buying decisions, they still get swayed by them and these methods continue to have a significant impact.

This is the essence of promotional techniques that rely on the principle of FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out. It’s one of the psychological methods used to influence the audience and has a great impact on increasing store sales.

In this example 👇 from the homepage of the “Sun & Sand Sports” store, you’ll find a countdown clock at the top of the page, indicating the time left for the offers to end.

Keep Your Customers Waiting for Something New

Here, we’re talking about flash sales, which are limited-time offers on specific items. These sales are advertised in advance, and customers eagerly await their start, rushing to get the deal and purchase these limited items before others.

But what makes this approach special is that the discounts are often significant, leaving little room to miss out on them. Sometimes, products are offered at a symbolic price, like selling a product for 1 SAR that originally costs hundreds of Riyals.

The “Jumia” store has been using this technique effectively for years, reaping countless benefits and skyrocketing sales.

Here’s what they do:

They give this season’s marketing campaign a distinct character and different designs compared to other times of the year.
They fill their store with signs of preparation and celebration for this season, applying discounts to almost all their products.
They start advertising their offers early on various social media platforms.
They specify the starting times of flash sales and continuously promote them.
They encourage customers to use the mobile app to access flash sale deals.
They provide clear instructions for participation on their store and marketing platforms.

A crucial note: This flash sale serves as bait, attracting customers to visit the website or download the app and eagerly wait for the offer to begin. Before, during, and after the offer, visitors will explore your store and likely not leave with an empty cart.

This is your chance to reorganize your store and improve the navigation to target customers with products that pique their interest and achieve your goal of having them visit your store.

Offer Free Shipping for Orders

Regardless of the offer or discount you provide to your customers, adding “free shipping” to it can increase the likelihood of customers showing interest. This imparts a sense of added value, as customers expect to receive their product at a great price without any additional shipping costs.

However, covering all shipping costs can affect your final profit margin. Therefore, you need affordable and high-quality shipping options that meet your customers’ expectations without putting a strain on your budget and profits.

This is where we invite you to join “OTO,” the first shipping gateway in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. It offers competitive, low-cost shipping starting from 13 SAR, allowing you to choose from multiple shipping and delivery companies.

At the end of the article, you’ll find the “OTO” price calculator, which you can use to compare shipping prices in Saudi Arabia. 👇

If you want to try it out, you can build a free account on OTO and experience their high-quality and fast shipping services. You’ll also have the opportunity to send free tracking messages to your customers, allowing them to track their shipments moment by moment.

It’s Time to Start

Ideas for White Friday advertisements are limitless, and there are numerous promotional methods that influence customers. However, we suggest you:

Choose one idea and try it, or combine two ideas or techniques, but don’t spread yourself too thin trying everything.
Segment your customers or target market into groups.
Target each group with content that matches their interests and demographics.
Target your customers with more than one promotional message. Try, test, and improve your messages tailored to them.
Try, test, and improve the performance of your ads, and be flexible in making changes.
Keep an eye on your competitors as they might change the rules of the game at the last minute.
Be ready with your team to handle the expected increase in sales and be available to answer customer inquiries at any time.
Do not delay in shipping orders and do not risk providing a poor shipping experience that may affect customer satisfaction and loyalty to your store.

Good luck!

					
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