{"id":54873,"date":"2024-12-12T13:26:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T13:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/?post_type=library&p=54873"},"modified":"2024-12-12T13:26:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T13:26:26","slug":"5-things-we-learned-from-bfcm-2024","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/5-things-we-learned-from-bfcm-2024","title":{"rendered":"5 Things We Learned from BFCM 2024: The Data, Insights, and Key Takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Another Black Friday and Cyber Monday is in the books, and it\u2019s been a noteworthy shopping season in more ways than one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what exactly did we learn from this year\u2019s BFCM frenzy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what we\u2019re here to answer. We\u2019ve dug into the details, analyzed the data, and pinpointed the most important insights you need to shape your strategy moving into 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Friday and Cyber Monday by the Numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s break down the peak season stats we gathered from Bloomreach customers and see what they can tell us about this year\u2019s trends: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mobile App Notifications Are on the Rise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bloomreach customers sent 243 million mobile push notifications this Black Friday, a 103% year-over-year (YoY) increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this stat is a drastic jump from last year, it shouldn\u2019t surprise you that mobile app campaigns are becoming more popular for marketers. Mobile push notifications<\/a> can deliver timely and personalized messages right to your audience\u2019s lock screen, making them an ideal touchpoint for attention-grabbing campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Email Is Still the Undisputed Leader of Marketing Channels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Email marketing<\/a> continues to reign supreme in 2024, with Bloomreach customers sending over 500 million email campaigns on Black Friday alone, representing a 32% YoY increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These numbers reinforce a simple truth: Email is still one of the most effective tools in a marketer\u2019s arsenal. It may be one of the oldest digital channels, but when emails are smartly segmented, deeply personalized, and visually engaging, it\u2019s hard for any other campaign to hold a candle to their results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Personalization Is a Top Priority<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A closer look at 2024\u2019s peak season emails shows just how important personalization is for success. Personalized email campaigns<\/a> increased by 7% YoY on Black Friday and 35% YoY on Cyber Monday, reinforcing that relevancy drives meaningful engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s not just email \u2014 personalization is a common theme for companies across every industry and campaigns across every channel. Personalized product recommendations, dynamic content, and AI-powered insights are essential tools that marketers used to cut through the clutter of the 2024 shopping season, ensuring their brand stayed top-of-mind while meeting the needs of an increasingly discerning audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SMS Continues To Grow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While email remains the dominant channel by volume, SMS continues to gain traction as a lucrative marketing tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enticed by the immediacy of personalized texts<\/a> and the channel\u2019s high open rates, Bloomreach customers significantly increased their use of SMS campaigns this holiday season, sending 13 million SMS campaigns on Black Friday \u2014 a 45% year-over-year increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Good On-Site Search Experience Is Essential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Marketing campaigns can be impactful during peak season, but a seamless product discovery and search experience<\/a> is the backbone of BFCM success. Bloomreach powered 1.49 billion searches from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, generating 70% of search and category revenue on Black Friday alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These numbers highlight a crucial reality for brands \u2014 helping customers quickly and easily find what they\u2019re looking for directly translates into peak season sales. Effective search tools not only enhance the user experience but also pave the way for higher conversions, making them a must-have for every ecommerce strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaways To Build on Your BFCM Success <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, what\u2019s next now that the holiday rush is over? How can we use this data to retain our new customers, build brand loyalty, and stay ahead of the competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to keep in mind to translate your peak season success into a rock-solid 2025 strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect the Whole Customer Experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If the peak season taught us anything, it\u2019s that a holistic approach to customer relationships is essential for modern brands. You need to know your audience, wow them with personalized campaigns, and orchestrate experiences<\/a> on whichever channel they choose to engage with \u2014 and that can\u2019t end once they make a purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep the momentum going post-BFCM, companies need to leverage all the insights from peak season campaigns and use them to deepen customer relationships. Data on each shopper\u2019s preferences, past interactions, and interests needs to inform their next touchpoint with your brand, whether that\u2019s a social ad, email campaign, or on-site visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all needs to feel like a cohesive, connected customer journey. That\u2019s the personal touch that customers are looking for to keep them coming back to your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harness Automated Workflows for Timely Reengagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Personalizing your campaigns might sound like a lot of manual work, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Marketing automation was a key factor in helping the most successful brands build personalized Black Friday campaigns this year, and it\u2019s just as valuable for your 2025 retention efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With the right automation tool<\/a>, you can employ real-time triggers and conditions that personalize each touchpoint based on your recipient\u2019s individual needs, like their optimal send time<\/a>, preferred cadence<\/a>, and hyper-personalized content<\/a>. Every campaign can feel tailor-made without the need to painstakingly build each message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nip Null Search Results in the Bud<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Few things frustrate shoppers more than searching for a product and hitting a dead end with \u201cno results found.\u201d If you want to build valuable customer relationships that last well into 2025, your search experience can\u2019t cut these shopping journeys short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-powered search<\/a> is the best way to sidestep these roadblocks. By analyzing the intent behind a search query, AI-powered search ensures that your search experience always produces the most relevant results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s no exact match to a search term, AI can display similar products from your catalog, suggesting alternatives that keep your results proactive, your shoppers engaged, and your customer journeys moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embrace Multi-Modal Search<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brands that empowered their customers were the big winners during Black Friday 2024. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for companies to embrace multi-modal search \u2014 it gives customers more dynamic and intuitive ways to find the products they\u2019re looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoppers don\u2019t want to rely solely on traditional keyword searches anymore. They expect a customer experience that offers innovative search capabilities<\/a> like visual search, which is becoming an increasingly popular tool for product discovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Allowing customers to upload a photo or screenshot to find product recommendations that match their aesthetic or preferences can go a long way toward building brand loyalty. It simplifies the search process, opens up new ways to engage, and proves how committed you are to helping your customers find the products they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlock Seamless Customer Journeys With Conversational AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From a bird\u2019s-eye view of this year\u2019s peak season data, it\u2019s easy to see where ecommerce is heading. Automation, personalization, and connected, dynamic search experiences all point toward the same future: one where conversational commerce<\/a> is the norm, and conversational AI<\/a> is the driving force behind shopping experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With tools like Amazon\u2019s Lex and Apple\u2019s Siri paving the way, AI-powered chatbots are already deeply embedded in today\u2019s shopping experiences. Customers can engage with these AI-powered tools as they need, chatting with them in real time like they would with a personal shopping assistant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s absolutely vital for brands to recognize the game-changing opportunity that these conversational AI tools provide today. They\u2019re no longer a \u201cwhat-if\u201d to plan for \u2014 they\u2019re already here, engaging customers at key moments in their buying journey to offer instant customer support, personalized recommendations, and expert advice, all while learning and improving with each interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomreach\u2019s own conversational AI tool, Clarity<\/a>, helped one of our customers achieve incredible results on Black Friday this year. The brand saw a 35.2% higher conversion rate, 28% lower exit rate, and 39.8% more revenue per visit when a customer engaged with Clarity during their on-site experience, proving just how impactful these AI-powered tools can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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