We are approaching one of the most important dates for Brazilian retail: Black Friday. However, it is necessary to understand that the market dynamics have changed in recent years, and advertisers need to adapt to these transformations to make the most of the opportunities during this period.
We can say that in the last two years, the Black Friday weekend has generated some frustration, falling below general expectations – even though overall retail performance for the month has been consistently high year after year. This brings more market attention to what is known as Black November.
In 2023, Black Friday generated R$ 4.5 billion in online commerce, 14.4% lower than the previous year. However, when considering the entire month of November 2023, Brazilian retail recorded a 2.2% growth compared to the same period in 2022, according to IBGE. A global survey by RTB House showed that November generates up to 20% more conversions than the second biggest peak of the year (December), reflecting the importance of a strategic planning that goes beyond Friday.
For many consumers, Black November is an opportunity to save and make larger investments, as many await this period to make significant purchases. Consequently, whereas expectations used to be confined to a single day of offers, today the date is extended, with consumers expecting a longer period of promotions.
Planning and anticipation are crucial
To ensure the success of your efforts in one of the most crucial moments for e-commerce, it is essential to plan short, medium, and long-term strategies. To harness the full potential around the date, it is important to already prepare your brand and your website for the sales scaling opportunity we aim for in November.
RTB House data on Black Friday show that advertisers investing in prospecting campaigns starting from the third quarter of the year tend to achieve better results in November, especially by building a larger base of potential users to scale conversion campaigns like retargeting.
This is because during Black November there is a 4.5 times increase in the number of users engaging with brands, and a 3.7 times increase if we look at inactive users, highlighting the potential of the date to increase the customer base through prospecting and engagement campaigns.
Media planning checklist for Black Friday
- Diversify your investments: instead of a fixed date, invest in a Black November approach and start offers a few days or weeks in advance;
- Increase and warm up your user base in advance: from the third quarter, invest in prospecting campaigns to fatten the sales funnel and enable scaling in conversion volume in November;
- Stand out from the competition: create unique opportunities or discounts, like specific discount pages with partner brands (co-branding);
- Know your audience: conduct A/B tests in advance to understand which messages, creatives, and offers work best with your audience;
- Include other areas in your planning: check the integration of stock and logistics with e-commerce to avoid tagging and feed failures;
