Did you know that UK shoppers spent an estimated £13.3 million on Black Friday sales last year?
If you’re a small business owner, you might think you can’t compete with the big brands at this price-slashing time of year.
Yet new research suggests that microbusiness entrepreneurs could really benefit from the 2024 holiday season, even when the nation is feeling the pinch of inflation.
The encouraging new data comes from GoDaddy, maker of the AI-assisted Airo.
71% of UK shoppers are willing to pay more to buy from a small business rather than a larger competitor during the 2024 holiday season.
More specifically...
- 23% of consumers are happy to pay 5% more
- 30% would pay 10% extra
- 9% are willing to pay 20% more
- 4% would pay more than 20% extra to benefit from the products and services of a boutique business
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More good news for small firms
The study also highlighted some additional facts about the holiday shopping season that could be handy for UK small business owners to know.
To start with, GoDaddy discovered that UK shoppers are pretty organised when it comes to holiday shopping.
10% of UK shoppers do the bulk of their holiday shopping on Black Friday.
Another 10% get started even earlier, in October or before.
Of course, if you’re a little behind with your own festive sales plans, don’t worry too much – 23% of UK consumers do most of their gift buying between 1 and 14 December.
A smaller number (7%) complete their main sprees between 15 and 23rd.
Editor's note: Start selling online now with GoDaddy's easy online store builder. If you can point, click, drag and drop you can use Online Store.
40% of shoppers learn about holiday deals from social media ads
Small business owners should also be interested to hear that 40% of UK shoppers say they usually learn about shopping deals from social media adverts.
An equally sizeable 37% said they learnt about offers from emails.
43% said it was word of mouth that kept them in the know about deals.
So, every time you make a sale this holiday season, consider asking your customers to pass on the details to friends and family.
Finally, GoDaddy learned that the largest segment (30%) of UK consumers bought gifts for between three and five people at Christmas time. When you make a sale, think about asking if your customer has anyone else, they still need to buy for. Then make some upsells based on what they say.
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Small businesses have the upper hand in 2024
The key learnings from GoDaddy’s Black Friday research are…
- UK shoppers are willing to pay more to shop from small businesses this holiday season – so don’t worry that you can’t compete with the big brands.
- The majority of shoppers make the bulk of their festive purchases before December. It’s time to ramp up your sales campaigns if you’ve not started yet.
- Word of mouth, social media ads, and emails count amongst the best ways to get the word out about your holiday offerings. Get used to asking people to recommend you to friends and family.
- 30% of UK shoppers buy presents for between three and five people, so be sure to ask if there’s anything else you can help customers with at check out.
A few frequently asked questions
Still have questions about the upcoming holiday shopping season? The answers may be here.
What is Black Friday?
Launched in the USA, Black Friday heralds the start of the holiday shopping season with a flood of deals. The event takes place on the first Friday after Thanksgiving, a celebration that falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year.
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is another day of holiday shopping deals, but the focus for Cyber Monday is on online shopping.
What week is Black Friday UK?
Black Friday 2024 is the 29th November.
Are Black Friday deals better than Cyber Monday deals?
In 2024, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals tend to blur into one another. Some companies run Black Friday sales for a week or more these days, so there isn’t that much distinction between to two.
