PartnerCentric, Inc. is a fully-remote performance marketing agency with over 40 full-time employees based in the U.S. and Europe. At their core, they build meaningful relationships without borders, and aim to be the best partner for clients and each other.
How big of an event is Black Friday for PartnerCentric in the U.S.? What impact has the event had on your business in previous years?
As an agency, our retail clients typically see Black Friday as one of their top revenue generating days of the year. Q4 can range anywhere from 30-50% of their overall revenue, with 15-25% coming from Black Friday alone. Last year we saw some incredible stats, with there being a 69% YoY increase in revenue and 81% increase in the number of sales for Black Friday.
Consumer spending during Black Friday is projected to increase by 47% this year, so we like to plan a few months in advance with clients to ensure we have the best offers out there, in addition to the best placements. In our experience, Black Friday success requires a balance between the right offer and the right placement. With so many sales happening it’s imperative that we ensure clients get the best exposure on sites that meet their target demo.
How do you suggest promotions or approaches differ between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
On Black Friday, we try to encourage more site-to-store offers because as large families gather together, some of their traditions still include going Black Friday shopping in-store. These in-store offers complement the online offers, which typically continue through Cyber Monday. We also will propose add-ons such as free shipping or even a gift with purchase to entice those shoppers who are at work and looking for deals.
From the Black Friday week through Free Shipping Day, customers are always looking to find the best deals. If you can couple an offer with free shipping you are most likely to win the sale.
Which products do you expect to be the biggest sellers?
We expect to see a lot of success with wearable technology, home goods, fashion and subscription boxes.
Is there a specific type of affiliate you see as the biggest star this holiday season (influencers, coupon and cashback sites, bloggers, etc.)? Have you seen any unique or creative promotional methods?
Going off historical performance, we usually see cashback sites generate the highest performance during holiday season. Loyal consumers know they can shop through their cashback site and receive an incentive on top of the big discounts the advertisers are offering.
Additionally, we know that deal sites will generate big numbers when promoting the best-of-web pricing and exclusives during key holiday dates, such as Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. E-commerce sales during the holiday season are projected to grow 21% compared to the 2016, so we ensure that our clients are prepared.
Clients are always asking for new discovery methods, so influencers and bloggers are key to introduce a new product or service. This, paired with strong offers to convert and close the sales loop, is one of the tactics we are approaching with our clients.
Finally, two unique or creative promotional methods we’ve seen are Increasingly.co and MyUniDays. Increasingly.co bundles products to increase the advertiser’s AOV while MyUniDays targets college students to offer them a better deal once they verify their student status.
What are your overall predictions for Black Friday/Cyber Weekend in your market?
Year-over-year trends will show continued growth in e-commerce sales during Black Friday/Cyber Weekend. Be on the lookout for more options like pick up in store, express shipping discounts, omni-channel promotions, etc., as ways to optimize and tailor the shopping experience for consumers.
We also expect to see earlier shopping! Brick-and-mortar, as well as online retail, is moving ahead of seasons and holidays more quickly. We also think with the proliferation of Amazon, consumers are requiring a top-notch consumer experience and customer service offerings like expedited shipping, best-of-web prices and free returns.
What are some of your best practices for engaging affiliates/users during Q4?
There are many ways to engage during the holiday season. Naturally, the affiliates will pick up the holiday promotions for advertisers. The key is to have the offers front and center where all the traffic hits the affiliates site/newsletters. Additionally, securing placements ahead of time with flat fees and commission increases can ensure your offer is not buried on your store page. Also, incentivizing dormant affiliates within your program with bonuses during peak season should be an easy win for both advertiser and affiliate.
Finally, it’s important to have constant communication and to send relevant messages to the right audience. The ability to segment affiliates and their clientele is key to make sure the affiliate partner has competitive offers and that we are converting at a healthy ROI.
For more information on PartnerCentric, please visit their website.
