Black Friday is the busiest sales day of the year in the US and marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In 2021, American consumers spent $8.9 billion online during Black Friday, falling just short of last year’s record of $9.03 billion.
But Back Friday is no longer just an American phenomenon. It’s now one of the most anticipated shopping events worldwide, including throughout much of Europe where it’s gained widespread popularity among consumers and online consumer-focused retailers.
Countries like France, Germany, Spain, and the UK saw some of the most impressive online sales peaks during Black Friday in 2021. France recorded 87% growth in online shopping during the week of Black Friday compared to the country’s weekly average. In Germany and Spain, online consumer purchases during Black Friday were four times higher than on an average day.
But what about businesses outside the B2C ecommerce sector? Can B2B webshops also take advantage of Black Friday to boost sales? The answer is a resounding yes! In this post, we’ll explain why and how your B2B webshop can fully exploit Black Friday to increase sales by offering Buy Now Pay Later.
Black Friday and B2B come together
The B2B ecosystem is undergoing significant changes driven by rising buyer expectations for a frictionless B2C-like purchasing experience. Research from McKinsey shows that ecommerce now drives more than 18% of all revenue for the average B2B company, putting it on par with in-person sales and ahead of all other channels. This leads us to believe that Black Friday is also a huge business opportunity for B2B ecommerce businesses.
What’s the effect of Black Friday on buyer mindset?
Humans love deals and are all driven to a certain extent by FOMO (fear of missing out). We will go the extra mile for a bargain and feel compelled to purchase if the right psychological triggers are present. Since B2B and B2C ecommerce webshops both target people and aim to encourage them to make a purchase, B2B businesses can also tap into the human instincts of B2B buyers and benefit from offering Black Friday deals.
BNPL & Black Friday – How to stand out from the crowd
Offering Buy Now Pay Later comes with game-changing benefits that can help your B2B webshop stand out and boost sales over Black Friday and into the future.
1. Increase purchasing power
One massive benefit of offering Buy Now Pay Later is that it gives customers more buying power to purchase the goods or services they want and motivates the purchase of upgrades and add-ons. With BNPL, buyers feel more confident to make a purchase and they don’t have to worry about things like cash flow or applying for trade credit. They can purchase more, taking advantage of your Black Friday offers, and delay or split the payment over time often with no interest. Goods or services are only paid for after they are received and meet the buyer’s expectations, adding a layer of trust and comfort to every transaction.
2. Meet buyer expectations
Today’s B2B buyers expect a smooth and frictionless buying experience when shopping online and continue to embrace digital solutions. According to Avionos, 94% of B2B buyers prefer to work with suppliers that continuously evolve their digital capabilities and experiment with offerings. You can meet these expectations and satisfy your customers by offering new and attractive deals on Black Friday and providing a painless B2C-like BNPL payments experience. In return, you can expect an increase in sales and a greater likelihood that buyers will return in the future too!
3. Boost conversion and average order values
In a study by MSTS, 48% of all B2B buyers surveyed said they had abandoned a purchase because they were not offered their preferred payment method. With BNPL, you can offer the most popular payment method among B2B buyers and enable a fast and frictionless payment experience proven to increase conversion rates by 20-30%.
The flexibility provided by BNPL also eases the initial financial burden faced by buyers, empowering them to make additional purchases and buy high-value products they could otherwise not afford due to budgetary constraints. According to Mondu’s data, online B2B webshops can experience up to a 57% increase in average order amounts after adding BNPL as a payment option.
4. Create trust
It’s no secret that trust is a major factor for business buyers when deciding whether to purchase. This is particularly the case when converting first-time customers and laying the foundation for future transactions with them.
Trust is associated with three states of probability: the probabilities of loss or gain and uncertainty. When a buyer is sure about the gain and has no fear of a loss accompanying a purchase, trust is high, and the purchase will likely be completed. On the other hand, when a buyer is unsure about the gain and fears a loss, trust will be low and the purchase is unlikely to be completed. Uncertainty is highest when the chances of loss and gain are equal. Any uncertainties within a checkout experience can destroy buyer trust and often result in abandoned carts.
Offering BNPL allows B2B webshops to rapidly build a sense of trust whereby buyers feel sure about the gain they’ll experience and don’t fear any loss. With BNPL, goods or services are only paid for after receiving them and meeting buyer expectations so there is little to lose from the buyer’s perspective. BNPL also builds trust by providing a service that genuinely helps buyers buy what they want and run their businesses more effectively. Ultimately, this trust dramatically increases the likelihood of buyers’ purchasing on Black Friday and returning in the future.
Offer BNPL in your B2B checkout with Mondu
Mondu’s BNPL solutions bring B2B up to par with B2C payments, putting customers at the heart of the payment flow and ensuring they have a fast and seamless checkout experience. We offer flexible payment terms of 30, 60 or 90 days. You can also make purchasing easier with our convenient Installments solution, which lets buyers divide their purchases into six equal, interest-free payments.
Mondu integrates seamlessly in any web shop – bespoke or based on a webshop platform – and supports a range of multi-language systems and payment methods.
Want to learn more?
Reach out to our team today for a personal consultation at sales@mondu.ai or book a demo.
