Black Friday is upon us, if not already started as every year the Black Friday sale period gets earlier and earlier. With a huge amount of revenue due to be generated over this period, most brands want to get in on their piece of the pie, especially with many businesses having increased post-pandemic revenue targets amidst a cost-of-living crisis.
However, what some brands need to consider is it actually beneficial for them to join in on the Black Friday price-slashing, or instead can it be detrimental to their brand to partake in such sales?
Having spoken to owners of luxury and premium brands before, a common theme is that they have been told by marketing agencies and professionals to introduce sales to increase sales. Although technically this may not be wrong as it can increase revenue numbers short-term, I have had the same feedback from business owners – do we want to go into sale periods and devalue the products we are offering?
The reason for this feeling is because for any luxury or premium brand, the product or service you are offering is priced at a specific price point based on the quality of the product, your target market etc. If customers know that products will be on sale every few weeks, are they less likely to purchase when at full price if stock is sitting there? It’s also worth considering that does the customer then value that product at the original price point, or RRP, or do they see it as lesser-value when they know that sales periods are often.
As a luxury brand, it is integral to maintain that sense of value from your products. Customers are paying for your product at a premium price point and therefore if they feel that the brand themselves are devaluing through constant sales periods, their thought process and buying behaviours will follow suit.
Ofcourse Black Friday is it’s own sales period and just because a luxury or premium brand enters the sales market at this point does not guarantee it devalues the brand, however it is vital to understand in the wider landscape are these products being consistently devalued or marked down, or is this a infrequent offer to drive new customers that you hope to retain and longer term drive further revenue from?
Some luxury brands decide to add value rather than mark down. But what does this mean?
This means that instead of putting products on sale, you can add value to your customer base through limited-edition products or added products on top of your offering.
A great example of this is Diptyque, who every year have a slightly different Black Friday offering, however always look at the added value element rather than price-dropping. This has been done through limited edition candles and scents as well as added products for a certain amount spent. This technique doesn’t devalue the product they are selling, but created urgency to buy over the Black Friday sales period as it is an offer that is unavailable after Cyber Monday.
So as a luxury or premium brand approaching the Black Friday sales period, or any sales period, you need to think of the following:
- Could this sale period be seen as devaluing the product?
- Are we in and out of constant sales cycles that may be affecting the perception of the RRP?
- Can we look at value adds rather than price markdowns?
- Are we looking at sales periods to hit short-term targets than may affect long-term brand value and the way people perceive the brand?
If you are a luxury of premium brand that needs help navigating the Black Friday period or any sales period from a digital marketing perspective, feel free to reach out to [email protected].
