AI won’t replace market research. But it will expose weak strategy
Much of the broader conversation around AI in market research assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets, writes Soyinka Witness.
DISCOUNTING
How to prepare your business for Black Friday 2021 mayhem
By our News Team | 2021
‘Be realistic, but proactive’ is the advice from experts as African retailers gear up for the big day (or longer).
Many brands are celebrating African consumers’ rush to embrace e-commerce. However, the advancement is not without its repercussions, including some very high expectations.
It is alarming that everyone is placing so much store in what Black Friday can deliver, even if the event has now stretched to include a whole month. Indeed, some e-commerce players have unrealistically forecast 60% of their revenue will be made over this period. This is according to Chelsea Owens, Business Unit Director at UK digital marketing specialists Incubeta.
Few knew what to expect ahead of some of the earlier Black Fridays, but now it has become clear that African companies have woken up to the power of online sales on one of the biggest (in some markets, the biggest) sales day of the year.
Top tips on how retailers should prepare
Photo by Cardmapr at Unsplash
Incubeta shares six recommendations on how businesses can best prepare for the 2021 event.
- Discount what your customers actually want: Retailers should avoid using pre-lockdown data as the basis for what they promote in 2021. Rather use online data and sales trends from just the last few months.
- Don’t neglect your feeds: Once retailers have their products chosen, it’s important to then check the correct product descriptions and have the right pricing ready for the day of the sale.
- The cookie is not dead … yet: Firefox and Safari already block tracking cookies by default, and Google’s Chrome browser has joined the third-party-cookie-blocking fray. Therefore, this may be the last Black Friday where they can use the power of the third-party cookie.
- Consumers are savvy, don’t try to trick them: It is brand suicide for companies to increase their prices a few weeks or months ahead of the sale and then promote ‘sale prices’ which are the normal retail price.
- Start speaking to partners now: Make the decision on what stock to discount early and then begin preparing suppliers well in advance. This will ensure that merchants have stock to deliver and that their logistics are in place.
- Get your agencies on board well ahead of time: The best way to avoid disappointment is to engage with agencies early.
PS: In case you haven’t checked your calendar, Black Friday 2021 is on 26 November.
Source: Incubeta, UK
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