Every year, retailers face the same dilemma: how to create irresistible discounts and attractive campaigns to stand out in the flood of promotions during each season?
But looking at this seasonal rush, is it enough to sell more?
Although all this has its value in increasing the retailer’s revenue, sustainable performance throughout the year will only be possible when the entrepreneur undergoes a mindset shift: the use of automation and data to sell more efficiently with sustainable operational effort. This is what I see as part of the future of intelligent e-commerce.
Looking back, Black Friday, for example, is not just the biggest sales event of the year; it’s a market thermometer, revealing consumption patterns, customer behavior, and operational efficiency. The big question every retailer should ask now is: what can I take from this experience to grow next year?
Going beyond the tip of the iceberg
Modern retailers need to accept that competitive pricing is only part of the equation. Consider this scenario: you invested heavily in discounts, attracted massive traffic, but ended the campaign with hundreds of abandoned carts. What does this mean? That something deeper—and often overlooked—needs to be addressed.
This is where the strategic use of data and automation comes in. For example, segmenting offers for specific profiles, sending personalized messages to customers who didn’t complete their purchases, or offering special conditions to those who only visited a page—these initiatives turn lost interactions into real conversions.
Moreover, analyzing which products have the highest abandonment rates allows for more surgical strategy adjustments. Perhaps the discount isn’t attractive enough, or the target audience for that item wasn’t correctly identified. Learning from these missed opportunities is a necessary step for growth. And this is visible in practice: according to Loja Integrada, retailers recovered over R$30 million in sales using abandoned cart tools in 2024 alone.
Another important lesson from Black Friday is the need for robust operations. Those who prepared well for peak traffic times and high inventory demand likely came out ahead.
Knowing, for example, which products sold the most or the peak traffic times is essential for planning future campaigns. More than that, having an agile operation to adjust promotions in real time can be the difference between hitting or missing targets.
The power of data
Data analysis is the most valuable legacy any season can leave for your business. Here’s how to use it to your advantage:
- Prioritize top sellers: Which items had the highest demand? Pay attention to these categories to highlight them in future campaigns;
- Understand consumer behavior: Who bought what, and when? Use this information to segment your customers and improve your offers;
- Prepare better: Products that ran out of stock or remained unsold can be important indicators for 2025 planning;
- Adjust marketing campaigns: Historical data can guide adjustments in ads, email marketing, and remarketing, making your next campaigns even more strategic.
So, what remains?
E-commerce platforms must go beyond simply offering tools to meet demands—they need to ease the entrepreneur’s workload, especially during market peaks. It’s necessary to act proactively for retailers, identifying opportunities, taking actions, and generating measurable growth autonomously.
It’s not about incremental changes—it’s about completely rethinking e-commerce.
