Is Black Friday becoming a non-event? What do the major retailers and analysts say? Well, malls were dead and foot traffic was down, but overall sales were up! Shopping habits are changing and we as small business owners have to respond. We need to give consumers lots of options and really be intentional in what we offer and how we market. Listen in as I share lots of stats and some keys things you need to do before the next Black Friday/Cyber Monday season! There were some really big winners this season, what can we learn from them so we can win big too! Things To Do ASAP Get a website. Make sure your website is optimized for an influx of traffic and performs very nicely on mobile. The online space is still the Wild, Wild West. It is a wide-open blue ocean and there is still lots of room for you to be successful. If you are not totally rocking it online, I want to help! My course, The Creators Roadmap™, doesn’t open until January 2020. But you can go to jenniferallwood.com/quiz right now to take my quiz to see which of the 7 online revenue streams you can best incorporate in your business!!! Key Stats/Ideas $4.2B was spent Thursday and sales were up 20% on Black Friday so people were definitely shopping. Several major retailers sites went down or had issues because of traffic. Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy all did okay because they offer an omni-channel - order online, pick up in-store, ship to home, ship to store, etc. Influencers were pushing pretty hard and did a great job! Wal-Mart has been upping their game, more sponsored content, new product lines, working with influencers, and so one leading up the Black Friday. Big box stores can offer deals, but small businesses can offer an experience. 65% of all sales were done on a phone so make sure your website is great on mobile! Store pick-up was up 43% (order online and pick up at a location). What does this mean for you as a small-business owner? Costco has a genius idea that involved a chicken! What can you do like Costco's chicken strategy? The retailers are making offers earlier and earlier, but consumers are waiting longer and longer to purchase making sure it is the best deal. Only 60% of people know what Small Business Saturday is. What can you do to help educate people next year? If you want to know how to incorporate Instagram Stories in your business, check out this episode>>> 077: Using Instagram Stories for Business CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY PODCAST AND LEAVE A REVIEW! Email us at podcast@jenniferallwood.com if you have any questions or inquiries!