While Black Friday may have started as a post-Thanksgiving shopping trip for American families, it has evolved into what is for many retailers the biggest shopping period of the year (by far). Adobe Analytics reports that in 2020, consumers spent around $9 billion shopping online over the Black Friday period, which was a whopping 21.6% increase over the previous year.

While this specific year was of course marked by COVID–which we all know pushed shoppers toward eCommerce rather than shopping in-store–the upward trend in spending has been consistent year-over-year, especially as Black Friday becomes increasingly popular outside of the US.

Naturally, business owners are anxious to avoid leaving money on the table when consumers are clearly dying to spend it. Thus, there’s an incomprehensible number of articles, books, podcasts, and so on explaining exactly what you should be doing to capitalise.

The problem is: the information you’re finding doesn’t necessarily work for your business.

While there are certain universal truths and best practices (don’t worry, we’ll get to that), Black Friday is not a one-size-fits-all ordeal. When looking at our own clients here at LeanConvert, we’ve seen how divergent customer behaviour calls for each business to personalise their own approach to the holiday season.

In order to figure out your specific approach, here are a few questions to consider.

When is the most important part of the Black Friday shopping period?

Research easily shows us that Black Friday has gone from being a single day to a whole month. While this started with add-ons like Cyber Monday, it has now become an expanded, multi-week shopping extravaganza for consumers who’ve grown to expect deals for an elongated time.

One thing this research often doesn’t mention? That the actual Black Friday weekend–which takes place immediately after the last Thursday in November–is still where we see the most spending by far.

So what might this middle finger mean for your business?

“While the articles are right–the Black Friday period is now much longer–you can to optimise your marketing efficiency by still focusing on Black Friday itself, depending on your own customers’ spending behaviour,” says Marvin Amm, Leanconvert’s Analytics and Insights Specialist.

The takeaway here is that you should test how your customers react to a longer Black Friday season before investing in spreading your efforts out across an entire month.

What if your average order value goes down?

It makes sense that your average order value will go down on Black Friday. It is, after all, a shopping period marked by sales and coupons galore. People are quite literally shopping because the prices have gone down.

“It’s true that Black Friday is typically an assault on your margins,” says Stuart Nelson, Client Services Director at LeanConvert. “Revenue looks great but really it’s the profit we are looking for. What are you doing to make up for lost margins?”

As a business, you should be experimenting with how to increase your average order value while still pulling in customers with good deals. Is there an offer you can make around shipping that might entice them to buy more than one item? Could bundling a bunch of deals together encourage them to make bigger transactions while still feeling satisfied that they’ve gotten a good deal? Will suggesting full-priced items next to discounted items encourage visitors to purchase things that weren’t on sale?

Are you getting new customers through Black Friday?

It’s important to consider the type of customers that are actually shopping on your site during Black Friday. If, for example, you are noticing that a vast majority of those making transactions are returning customers, it’s likely that your existing customers are simply waiting until the sales period to purchase items they would have purchased at full-price otherwise.

“You might be making more money, but are you getting customer loyalty?” asks Nelson. “You should be using this period to come up with loyalty deals–ways to get new customers to keep coming back, so that it’s not just a singular drive-by purchase over the holidays, only for them never to be seen again. It’s worth remembering that the December holidays and Valentine’s Day, two other crucial shopping periods, are just around the corner.”

Alternatively, if you’re getting new customers, this means the possibility of a long and fruitful relationship with shoppers who might never have engaged with your site had you not encouraged them in with holiday deals. This means more data, more emails, and more people who are interested in your particular business.