Black Friday 2024: How to prepare for returns and shipping in e-commerce ?

What is Black Friday? When is Black Friday 2024?

Black Friday, also known as Black Friday, is the ideal shopping occasion. Shops, both larger and smaller, offer attractive promotions and big sales then. Along with Cyber Monday, this popular event attracts the attention of consumers, enabling them to save money on their purchases. In Poland, Black Friday gained popularity a few years ago and is now a tradition. It often lasts not just one day, but a whole week, creating Black Week. The origins of Black Friday can be traced back to the United States and came to Poland around 2013, gaining increasing interest since then. Despite the initial concerns of some shops, it is now difficult to find a company that does not participate in the event.

Following Black Friday, Cyber Monday was created in 2005, when online sales were not yet so widespread. It was a way to encourage customers to shop online, competing with traditional shops that made the most profit during Black Friday. So the key difference between the days is that the former was born in stationary shops and the latter was an online response to the trend. Today, both days are popular in both traditional and online shops.

Returns and shipping on Black Friday - how to prepare ?

We have a list of tips for you in the context of returns and overseas shipping that will help you prepare well for both Black Friday and the entire IVQ. We draw our knowledge from our many years of experience and that of our online shop customers.

1. PREPARE A DEMAND FORECAST

Check the sales data of your company and marketplace platforms from the same period (IVQ) in previous years. On this basis, you will be able to plan supply and delivery processes more easily – you will be able to see which products from your shop were more popular in this period and which were less popular.

See Amazon’s liability insurance requirements: Amazon public liability insurance for sellers – what do you need to know?Changes on Amazon Prime – choose your delivery carrier!

2. TAKE CARE OF YOUR SECURITY STOCK

Still with the end of October, increase your stock by min. 10 % to avoid unforeseen situations.

My experience from previous years shows that such situations are unfortunately inevitable during this period. This is shown, for example, last year, when one of the leading couriers on the UK market had problems delivering parcels, leading to cancellations and returns – Wojciech Bijan, General Manager Poland at Global24.

3. OPTIMISE WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS

When you have your own warehouse, analyse your current processes and answer the question whether you can optimise them. Mainly in terms of the number of employees, packages ordered or packing times. Again, an analysis of the last three months of 2024 can be helpful.

IMPORTANT:

Place your packaging orders as early as late October/early November to avoid a situation of packaging shortages or price increases. This is a notoriously recurring situation due to the increased demand for these goods in the last quarter of the year.

4. MANAGE CASH FLOW

Take into account in your costs the increased number of orders, the number of potential returns or seasonal increases with certain carriers. Again, it is worth assuming a 10% higher budget here and bearing in mind the potential cost of additional staff.

5. MONITOR DELIVERY TIMES FOR SHIPMENTS AND RETURNS

Delivery time is often the most important aspect of the sales process, so it is important to monitor it regularly. In the event of a delay, have contingencies ready and inform customers of the situation.

My experience in logistics has taught me that even negative information is better received than no information at all,” says Wojciech Bijan from Global24.

6. PREPARE A CONTINGENCY PLAN

Taking all of the above points into account, have contingencies in place in case of unforeseen situations. These include, but are not limited to, additional staff, alternative couriers or other ways of storing and releasing goods. It should be noted, however, that these are just examples that occur in every e-commerce company. However, the cases of companies need to be considered individually, taking into account the processes they have developed and the resources they have.

In addition, when sending your goods abroad, pay attention to whether it is possible to reduce the transshipment points and allow the courier to pick up the parcels directly from the company warehouse. This, in turn, will increase the confidence that the parcel will be picked up and delivered on time.

7. PLAN YOUR CROSS-BORDER RETURNS PROCESS

The last thing to bear in mind is also the logistics of returns, which is particularly important in the fashion industry. There, the volume of returns often exceeds up to 30% of total orders. Therefore, plan this process in advance and maybe even increase the frequency of bringing back returns, which is possible with some courier companies.

Checklist ahead of Black Friday

Take a moment and prepare well ahead of the upcoming Black Friday 2024, and you may find our list of tips helpful:

1. Prepare a staycation forecast
2. Make sure you have a safety stock
3. Optimise warehouse operations
4. Manage your cash flow
5. Monitor delivery times
6. Prepare contingency plan
7. Plan your returns process

Black Friday 2024 with Global24

We have been in the market for returns and overseas shipments for online shops for more than 11 years. As a result, we have worked through many different stories and know what to look out for before this sensitive period. Even if you only sell in your own country, maybe this is a good opportunity to start expanding abroad?

We are here to help you and wish you every success on Black Friday 2024!