It’s no secret in the modern ecommerce landscape that one of the most valuable assets a business has is data, in a post GDPR world where consumer privacy is at an all time high the collection of first-party data is critical to ongoing success and growth. As we approach holiday season and notably Black Friday, consumers are on the hunt for great deals for products they’ve probably had on a list all year so a lot of the work is done already. We just need to capture that email address and ensure they’re purchasing from you when the sales hit .

Black Friday and the holidays don’t just offer you a chance to increase your revenue, it is the perfect moment to collect the kind of data that can help you grow as a business long-term. Not just emails, but with the right application you can also collect zero-party data such as wishlists, preferences, interests etc. to find out more about your customers.

This once in a year opportunity is here and we have four ways to make the most of data collection in Q4.

Exclusive Pre-Sale Access for Black Friday

A pre-sale event is a way to reward your loyal customers with early access to your sale either through a dedicated landing page or more commonly a single use discount code. Although used to commonly reward your VIP customers in your database you can also advertise it as a way to gain more email subscribers on site whilst not delaying current sales if done correctly.

Start by promoting this pre-sale to your existing subscribers or those who have engaged with your data collection forms through email before bringing sign-up forms and pop-ups to the site nearer the sale. Ideally you want a short lead time into the pre-sale event as not to delay prospective purchases and effect daily trade. 

Using on-site forms such as in the footer and pop-ups promoting the pre-sale access via sign up which is already active or active this coming weekend will be a highly effective way to capture emails and attention of users on site not currently in your marketing database.

As extra hooks it is worth highlighting limited availability of products during sale or time-sensitive deals to boost email submissions, for example:

  • Sign up to our newsletter and texts for early access to Black Friday
  • Exclusive 48 Hour Access to Pre-Black Friday Sale
  • VIP Early Access to Black Friday whilst stocks last

Utilising on site pop-ups & Forms

The tried and tested method for data collection on any site is the pop-up form showcasing a discount or welcome offer and it is no different for Black Friday. This strategy, although the most common, can delay sales and lower conversion rates for the period it is live as shoppers will now be aware that Black Friday deals are coming.

As with any pop-up form it is best to follow best practices around trigger times and conditions to trigger. Having a timed delay to trigger or action to trigger like showcasing exit intent will keep the user experience in-line with the current site as we want to avoid annoyance or pain points which is why we must also consider rules. Ideally the pop-up shows for new visitors only and only once within certain timeframes, we don’t want to retrigger the form every page or session.

It is best to capture email only as it is easier for the user to submit this data alone without their name or number. Once submitted ensure that your email flow is ready for instant send and if the email is only communicating the date to expect the Black Friday sale it would be worthwhile to include any welcome codes you have within that email in case the user wants to purchase regardless like below:

Be the First to know about our Black Friday Sale.

Plus Enjoy 15% off your first full price order!

Create a Quiz for Black Friday

A new popular way to collect first party data is on-site quizzes that act as product finders and a creative way to engage with your customers whilst you collect data.There is also the added bonus of collection zero-party data such as their preferences around your products and who they shop for on your site that you can use to further segment your email list.

Building a quiz for your website has been simplified by a number of applications through Shopify offering this as a self-service feature. The quizzes will encourage participants to provide their email addresses in exchange for quiz results and tailored product recommendations with direct linking to common email platforms such as Klaviyo and MailChimp for easy segmentation.

Using a quiz as a product finder could be a year long strategy so there is no need to personalise it to be Black Friday themed. However, including a hook such as “Be the first to hear when this product is on offer during Black Friday” or “Would you like access to our Early Black Friday Sale?” would work for a new email collection.

After participants complete the quiz, you can use their responses to send targeted product recommendations and exclusive Black Friday offers. This personalization can significantly increase conversion rates.

Segment Your List for Future Use

Now you’ve collected many new email addresses and data before and during Black Friday what should you do with it?

Firstly if you’ve collected emails in the lead up to Black Friday, ensure you have you email flow setup to provide them with either early access or notification the sale has gone live to deliver on what they signed up for.

Once Black Friday has passed you can now start to segment these customers in your email list, it is worthwhile segmenting these as Sale Period customers for two reasons. Firstly, we know they like a sale and we can include them in future sale emails. Secondly and more importantly having these segmented as Sale or Low Price Shoppers means you can create an email flow to try and progress them to full price customers over the next year depending on your product.

Turning a new customer captured through Black Friday into a loyal customer or 2nd Purchase is the true measure of success of capturing an email during Black Friday.