In the UK, Black Friday has become the annual pre-Christmas online shopping spree. Although Black Friday is linked with Thanksgiving celebrations in the US, it has had profound effects on UK shopping habits too. Internet retailers have embraced a tradition of online deals, special offers and price drops, with interesting effects on SEO and search marketing.
In 2019, Black Friday spending reached a staggering £5.5 billion online and is predicted to outstrip figures again this year. With digital and internet sales experiencing huge surges in many sectors throughout 2020, it’s likely we will see a sharp increase in Black Friday spending too.
Year on year, comparing 2019 to 2020, there has been over a 50% increase in searches related to “buy online”. Advertising trends have shown businesses responding to this trend with offers, discounts and other marketing activities launching much earlier in the year.
Interestingly, we have already started to see the global pandemic affecting Black Friday in other ways during the months leading up to the event. For example, over 6,600 searches for “Is Black Friday cancelled?” were made during October 2020. Search behaviours such as this reveal consumer anticipation but also uncertainty, and online retailers should take steps to reassure customers of their plans for the event.
Electronics have been the most searched for products in previous Black Friday events
In the UK specifically, there’s an average of 220K “black friday” related searches each year, representing the importance of SEO and search ads in the battle for online sales. Comparing 2020 and 2019, there’s already been a 7% increase in related searches before the Black Friday weekend.
Figures have revealed a 30% increase globally in online retail during 2020. Black Friday sales have increased steadily year on year. However, statistics point to a much larger Black Friday hike in 2020 than we’ve seen previously.
Undoubtedly, as more and more business and consumer activities move online, SEO and other digital marketing services will become more and more important. If you’d like to learn more or have a question for our team, please get in touch.