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  • ClickZ Home Decor & Furniture Newsletter - 11.28.2024

ClickZ Home Decor & Furniture Newsletter - 11.28.2024

PLUS: Sofa Club's Black Friday PlayBook to Achieve 85% YoY Boost

Author

Priscilla Soedarpo
November 28, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Welcome to ClickZ Home Decor & Furniture, your essential newsletter for decorating and furnishing e-commerce professionals. This Thanksgiving, with Black Friday just hours away, we’re here to help your campaigns sparkle and your sales shine!

Here’s what’s trending this week:

🛋️ Furniture Sales Rebound: October furniture sales rose 1.87% YoY, driven by strong consumer confidence.
🪑 Ikea Innovates: Resale marketplaces and sleep solutions highlight its focus on affordability and growth.
🏠 Sofa Club’s Black Friday Success: Early campaigns boosted sales by 84% YoY, proving the value of transparency and flexibility.
🛏️ Bedsure’s Heated Essentials: Winter-ready blankets and mattress pads combine cutting-edge tech with cozy comfort.

Guest At the Table 🍴

Black Friday is here, and for many brands, the hard work is done—you’ve set the stage and prepared for the biggest shopping event of the year. But as I’ve seen time and time again, the brands that succeed now are the ones that obsess over the right metrics and adapt quickly to what’s happening in real time. Here are two key areas I believe every marketer should focus on to maximize success this Black Friday:

1️⃣ Benchmarking

Benchmarks are your compass. They don’t just show how well campaigns are performing—they reveal opportunities to improve as the data rolls in. From CPMs to order volumes, understanding how your results stack up against industry benchmarks will help you refine your approach and stay competitive.

Looking ahead to 2025? Post-BFCM benchmarking will be invaluable, and Fospha’s next report will include fresh data to help you plan for the future. Follow us to make sure you don’t miss it. 📊

2️⃣ Measurement

Still relying on Last Click attribution? It’s holding you back. At the most competitive time of year, top brands are using advanced measurement tools to stay ahead of the curve. Fospha gives you a clear, cross-channel view of YoY performance, enabling you to act on the right signals—not misleading ones.

The insights you gather now can set you up for a strong 2025. If you’re ready to take your measurement strategy to the next level, there’s no better time to start than today.

🌟 Let’s make this Black Friday your most successful yet!

Harvest Highlights 🥕

October saw a notable rise in furniture sales, with a 0.58% monthly increase and a 1.87% year-over-year gain, driven by robust consumer spending. The National Retail Federation attributes this to economic stability and consumer confidence, setting a positive tone for the upcoming holiday season.

IKEA

Ikea's strategic focus on affordability and innovation has positioned it as a resilient player in the global retail market. Despite a 9% drop in sales, Ikea's operating profits rose by 4%, attributed to significant price reductions aimed at enhancing customer value amidst a cost-of-living crisis. Tolga Öncü, Ikea's global retail boss, emphasizes the importance of affordability, noting that continuous price cuts have expanded Ikea's customer base. This approach is expected to persist, with improvements in operations and product design driving further savings.

In a bid to innovate, Ikea has launched a peer-to-peer marketplace, allowing Ikea Family members to buy and sell used furniture. This initiative capitalizes on the popularity of Ikea products in second-hand markets, offering users access to product information, repair kits, and spare parts. Currently trialed in Madrid and Oslo, the marketplace has received positive feedback, with plans for potential expansion by year-end.

Ikea is also betting big on sleep, identifying it as a growth opportunity. The retailer is focusing on six sleep essentials, including comfort and air quality, to offer affordable solutions for better sleep. Recognizing cultural differences, Ikea is introducing new sofa beds to cater to diverse needs. Enhancements in-store and online aim to translate Ikea's expertise in sleep products, ensuring customers' bedroom needs are met comprehensively.

Homewares thrived amid a challenging retail environment, with LFL sales rising by 1.54%, marking the 20th positive result in 2024. This success contrasts with overall retail declines, as colder weather likely encouraged home-focused purchases. Footfall increased, especially in retail parks, despite a general downturn in non-store sales.

SOFA CLUB

Sofa Club's Black Friday 2024 campaign achieved record-breaking sales, with an 84% YoY increase. By launching early, they offered customers flexibility and transparency, resulting in high demand and rapid delivery. Their customer-first approach and efficient logistics were key to this success, enhancing the overall shopping experience.

Bedsure's Heated Essentials collection offers advanced heating technology in blankets, mattress pads, and heating pads, ensuring warmth and comfort. With rigorous safety testing and exclusive discounts, these products provide strategic value for marketers by highlighting innovation and consumer appeal in the home textile industry.

Feast of Influence 🥧

Tara Jackson on LinkedIn: It’s one of best weeks of the year for so many #ecommerce brands but it does also mark one of the busiest periods of the year 

Here are 3 key stats that we pulled from Black Friday last year: 

🤯 Record online spending: In 2023, U.S. consumers spent over $9 billion online on Black Friday alone

📲 Mobile shopping surge with over 50% of all Black Friday online sales in 2023 coming from mobile devices — the easiest way for people to shop these days 

📈 Growth in 'Buy Now, Pay Later' especially for larger purchases, showing that more shoppers are spreading the cost of their holiday spending. 

Jake Abrams on LinkedIn: Harsh DTC growth truth

Optimizing your 7DC Meta CPA is only half the job.

- You need to build the ecosystem of people who know you
- You need to get tastemakers to hype you
- You need to seriously grow 1 organic channel
- You need answer every objection on your site
- You need to delight customers & get them to come back

STOP treating growth like a transactional sales funnel.
START building a brand that your audience knows, trusts, and loves.

James Gray on LinkedIn: The reactions to Jaguar and Spurs’ (expensive) rebrands this week been pretty negative…

Spurs removed the only title they've had and Jag, well, some commentary suggests they've essentially pivoted and become a new vegan cosmetics brand targeting Gen-Z... thoughts?

The Golden Gobbler 🍗

Retailers are adapting to a shorter holiday season by starting sales earlier, with major players like Amazon and Walmart leading the charge. Despite fewer days between Black Friday and Christmas, sales are expected to rise. Consumers are shopping both online and in stores, with economic factors influencing behavior.

Dynamic Search Ads remain crucial in Google Ads strategies, even with Performance Max campaigns. They offer targeted control over ad descriptions and website sections. Regular optimization and strategic setup uncover new keyword opportunities, enhancing main search campaigns. 

TikTok Shop is experiencing a record-breaking festive season in the UK, with trends in pre-loved luxury, beauty, fragrances, and appliances. LIVE shopping sessions and trending hashtags like #TikTokShopBlackFriday are driving engagement. The platform anticipates significant growth in advertising spend, enhancing its retail impact this Christmas.

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