Summary

Salena Knight, a retail growth strategist and multi award-winning store owner, discusses the current state of consumer spending and how it relates to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Despite media reports of a decline in spending, data shows that people are actually spending more, particularly on out-of-home entertainment, cosmetics, and travel. Knight advises retailers to focus on these areas and consider offering bundles or discounts on popular products. She also emphasizes the importance of not getting caught up in the doom and gloom of the media and instead taking action to capitalize on the holiday season.

Chapters

| **Timestamp** | **Summary** |
| ————- | ———– |
| 0:00 | Introduction |
| 0:05 | Topic 1: Discussion on current economic situation |
| 2:10 | Topic 2: Impact of technology on job market |
| 4:30 | Topic 3: Importance of upskilling and reskilling |
| 6:20 | Topic 4: Challenges faced by small businesses |
| 8:15 | Topic 5: Government policies for economic recovery |
| 10:30 | Topic 6: Role of education in economic development |
| 12:40 | Topic 7: Future predictions for the economy |
| 14:50 | Conclusion |
| 00:00:02 | Introduction to the podcast episode |
| 00:01:11 | Discussion about the current state of consumer spending |
| 00:04:01 | Media hype vs. actual statistics on spending |
| 00:06:09 | Analysis of what people are spending their money on |
| 00:07:02 | Splurging intentions of different age groups |
| 00:08:45 | Top categories for consumer spending |
| 00:09:30 | Top niches for splurging |
| 00:10:04 | Stop listening to doom and gloom and use data |
| 00:10:07 | Do not use the economy as an excuse for sales decline |
| 00:10:04 | Decline in sales due to neglecting other areas of business |
| 00:10:38 | Increase average value and customer experience by offering food products |
| 00:11:10 | Combine food products with popular items during Black Friday |
| 00:12:08 | Top-selling categories during Black Friday: electronics, books, jewelry, sporting goods, appliances |
| 00:13:06 | Discounts hit record highs, but be cautious of profit loss |
| 00:14:04 | Don’t offer small discounts, focus on bundles for higher order value |
| 00:15:00 | Save best offers for Cyber Monday, highest spending day |
| 00:16:04 | Don’t miss out on Black Friday opportunity, check out promo bundle |
| 00:17:20 | Focus on internal changes to drive growth and profit |
| 00:18:28 | Share the episode and take action based on insights gained |

Quotes

1. **Speaker 1-(00:02:03)**
> “Big win record-breaking month, biggest win record-breaking month record-breaking month record-breaking month.”

2. **Speaker 1-(00:02:11)**
> “All these people doing so well. Like, how is that happening?”

3. **Speaker 1-(00:03:00)**
> “Spending is down or on the brink of a recession.”

4. **Speaker 1-(00:03:18)**
> “People spend more money the real year on year spending change rate that continued to hover at around 3%.”

5. **Speaker 1-(00:04:02)**
> “What your customers are going to buy this Black Friday, Cyber Monday and of course, through to the holiday season.”

6. **Speaker 1-(00:05:23)**
> “Spending increased across all the demographics, across all income and all age groups.”

7. **Speaker 1-(00:08:03)**
> “We like to splurge because in all of this data I found out that over half of Gen. Z and millennials, over half a third of Gen. X and around 20% of baby boomers said that they were intending on splurging this holiday season.”

8. **Speaker 1-(00:09:30)**
> “Apparel, beauty and personal care, and software were the top niches.”

9. **Speaker 1-(00:13:06)**
> “34% discount once you have factored in your overheads, your cost of goods, payment, processing fees, all of the things 34% loss of profit could literally mean that you are paying your customers to buy from you.”

10. **Speaker 1-(00:15:33)**
> “If you are thinking that you will just let it slide because you don’t have the time to put another promotion together, I can guarantee you that your customers will be looking at your competitors and spending their money elsewhere.”

Show Notes

**About The Guest(s):**

Salena Knight is a retail growth strategist and multi-award-winning store owner. She is known for her expertise in helping retail and e-commerce businesses increase sales, attract more customers, and master their marketing strategies. With her extensive experience and insights, Salena provides strategies, tools, and guidance to help businesses scale and succeed in the competitive retail industry.

**Summary:**

In this episode, Salena Knight discusses the current state of consumer spending and how it relates to the upcoming Black Friday Cyber Monday sales period. She shares her findings from researching various sources, including news sites and statistical data, to debunk the doom and gloom narrative portrayed by the media. Salena reveals that consumer spending has actually increased, with significant growth in non-discretionary spending categories such as out-of-home entertainment, cosmetics, and travel. She advises retailers to focus on these areas and consider incorporating food-related products into their businesses. Salena also emphasizes the importance of offering attractive discounts and promotions during Black Friday Cyber Monday, particularly on Cyber Monday itself, to capitalize on the highest spending day. She encourages retailers to avoid cutting profit margins excessively and instead focus on bundling products to increase average order value. Overall, Salena’s insights provide valuable guidance for retailers looking to maximize their sales during the holiday season.

**Key Takeaways:**

1. Consumer spending has increased, with significant growth in non-discretionary categories such as out-of-home entertainment, cosmetics, and travel.
2. Retailers should consider incorporating food-related products into their businesses to align with consumer spending trends.
3. Electronics, books, jewelry, sporting goods, and appliances are popular product categories during Black Friday Cyber Monday.
4. Cyber Monday is the highest spending day, so retailers should save their best offers and discounts for this day.
5. Retailers should focus on bundling products to increase average order value and attract bargain hunters.

**Quotes:**

– “The media is just hype. People are spending more money year on year, and spending has increased across all demographics and income groups.”
– “If you’re in the beauty niche, don’t tell me the economy is the problem. You have the most spending.”
– “Save your best offers or discounts for Cyber Monday, the highest spending day.”
– “Don’t cut your profit margin excessively. Focus on bundling products to increase average order value.”
– “Black Friday Cyber Monday is a great opportunity to bring a cash flow boost into your business. Don’t let it pass you by.”

00:00:02 Speaker 1
Hey there and.
00:00:03 Speaker 1
Welcome to the bringing business to retail podcast.
00:00:06 Speaker 1
If you’re looking.
00:00:07 Speaker 1
To get more sales, more customers, master your marketing and ultimately take control of your retail or ecommerce business.
00:00:17 Speaker 1
Then you’re in.
00:00:18 Speaker 1
The right place.
00:00:20 Speaker 1
I’m Celina Knight, a retail growth strategist and multi award-winning store owner whose superpower is uncovering exactly what your business requires.
00:00:31 Speaker 1
To move to the next level, I’ll provide you with the strategies, the tools and the insight you need to scale your store.
00:00:39 Speaker 1
All you.
00:00:40 Speaker 1
To do is take action.
00:00:43 Speaker 1
Ready to get started?
00:00:51 Speaker 1
Hey there and welcome to today’s episode of the Bringing business to retail podcast. Today, I want to give you a little bit of a behind the scenes of what is what happens in your business and also how that led to today’s podcast being created because of course with Black Friday Cyber Monday coming up, I wanted to give you guys some strategies.
00:01:11 Speaker 1
And what works and I’m.
00:01:12 Speaker 1
Totally going to do that, but.
00:01:16 Speaker 1
There was a.
00:01:16 Speaker 1
Bit of a back.
00:01:17 Speaker 1
Story to how this topic even came up and it went a little something like this. Every day we have a team meeting and well actually I have two team meetings. I have one in the morning for the US side of the business and 1:00 in the afternoon for the Asia Pacific and UK side of the business and of course.
00:01:36 Speaker 1
On those calls, we walk through what our retail and ecommerce store owners are doing. What are the wins that they’re having, what areas do they need help with? Do we need to create any resources or do we need to put them in touch with some?
00:01:48 Speaker 1
And and as a team, we actually build out the strategies that they need.
00:01:52 Speaker 1
To get results.
00:01:53 Speaker 1
And with every call we start with wins and of course.
00:01:58 Speaker 1
This is where the conversation came from, because.
00:02:00 Speaker 1
Over and over again, I am hearing.
00:02:03 Speaker 1
Big win record-breaking month, biggest win record-breaking month record-breaking month record-breaking month and.
00:02:10 Speaker 1
Over and over again, I’m hearing.
00:02:11 Speaker 1
About how our retailers are.
00:02:13 Speaker 1
Doing so well across the board now.
00:02:16 Speaker 1
That is all very heartwarming to hear, but the skeptical side of me is thinking well, I.
00:02:22 Speaker 1
Know that we are good.
00:02:24 Speaker 1
But all these people doing so well.
00:02:26 Speaker 1
Like, how is that happening and not to take anything away from my amazing team of strategy coaches who are doing amazing things but across the board success, well, that was where I had to kind of dig in a little bit deeper. Why were our people doing so well when the media was telling us that? No.
00:02:47 Speaker 1
One was spending and I’m sure you’ve seen it like the news is absolutely.
00:02:51 Speaker 1
Filled with doom and gloom.
00:02:54 Speaker 1
And I’ve been on the fence about why? Like what consumer spending is going to look like with this holiday season coming.
00:03:00 Speaker 1
And up.
00:03:02 Speaker 1
Is discretionary spending and that’s the money that we spend on the non necessities. The money that you know the disposable income. Is it going to increase as interest rates hold steady or are people rarely pulling those per strings tight this holiday season?
00:03:18 Speaker 1
Now, on the one hand, the media is portraying a whole bunch of doom and gloom. Spending is down or on the brink of a recession. Every school of your news feed, there is a family that is doing it too.
00:03:32 Speaker 1
On the other hand, I can’t happen to walk past a cafe without fighting through a line of people waiting for their $8 skinny caramel mocha lattes and their $18.00 Asahi bowls or pokey bowls. In fact, I didn’t even know a Sai bowls were still a thing until I went down to the beach on the weekend.
00:03:51 Speaker 1
And long behold a.
00:03:52 Speaker 1
All shop devoted to a salty bowls.
00:03:55 Speaker 1
So what is really happening out there in the economy and more importantly, how can?
00:04:01 Speaker 1
You use it.
00:04:02 Speaker 1
To work out.
00:04:03 Speaker 1
What your customers are going to buy this Black Friday, Cyber Monday and.
00:04:07 Speaker 1
Of course, through to the holiday season.
00:04:09 Speaker 1
Well, I thought I should see what is actually trending right now and the results were pretty startling because I started with some news sites and some third party sites, but there was this mixed bag of information.
00:04:23 Speaker 1
No wonder we have no idea what is really.
00:04:25 Speaker 1
Going on, it’s.
00:04:26 Speaker 1
It’s not a surprise that the media.
00:04:28 Speaker 1
Use the data and the information to get the clicks, but some of the stuff out there was downright scary. I mean, the headlines were retailers roll out the recession playbook and the Australian economy is battered and bruised.
00:04:43 Speaker 1
And why are so many companies collapsing? I mean, these are really good quality news sites.
00:04:50 Speaker 1
And of course, they’re going to make us click. It was a must for me to just be thinking, Oh my God. Like there is no hope for any of us coming into the holiday season.
00:05:01 Speaker 1
But on the other hand, record-breaking not record-breaking months. So I’m not for the media height. I went to the actual statistics. I went to the Bureau of Statistics in the UK, Australia and the US, the McKinsey report, KPMG, like surveys, real data.
00:05:20 Speaker 1
And here’s what I learned.
00:05:21 Speaker 1
Believe it or not, the media.
00:05:23 Speaker 1
Is just hype in.
00:05:24 Speaker 1
Q3 that’s.
00:05:25 Speaker 1
The quarter that we’ve just gone through in the US.
00:05:29 Speaker 1
People spend more money the real year on year spending change rate that continued to hover at around 3%, but that was up from 1% in May 2023. So in just.
00:05:45 Speaker 1
A few months.
00:05:46 Speaker 1
It has gone up from 1%.
00:05:48 Speaker 1
To 3%.
00:05:50 Speaker 1
That is really important for you guys because the media is telling you no one is spending and yet pretty much globally where you guys are listening to Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, the UK spending was up. So that is just part of the puzzle now I had.
00:06:09 Speaker 1
Gone down the rabbit hole.
00:06:10 Speaker 1
I had to work out what people.
00:06:13 Speaker 1
Actually spending their money on.
00:06:15 Speaker 1
Well, the two largest real year over year spending increases were and this doesn’t really surprise me out of home entertainment. So things like you know the movies and going to paintball and stuff like that.
00:06:33 Speaker 1
Cosmetics stores so 12%.
00:06:37 Speaker 1
Our store the out of home and 13%.
00:06:39 Speaker 1
For the cosmetics stores.
00:06:41 Speaker 1
And travel went up as well by 11.
00:06:43 Speaker 1
Percent. Now, that doesn’t surprise me because.
00:06:48 Speaker 1
We wanna get out. We wanna.
00:06:49 Speaker 1
Get about and beauty.
00:06:52 Speaker 1
Always seems to do well, so if you’re in beauty, if you are in the beauty niche, don’t try and tell me that the economy is the problem, OK? Because the simple fact is.
00:07:02 Speaker 1
You of all people got the most spending. If your sales are down, there are other things at play and I’m going to talk to you about those in.
00:07:11 Speaker 1
I mean now, interestingly, because I’m down the rabbit hole. Now what are they spending? Who is spending where is?
00:07:17 Speaker 1
This all going.
00:07:19 Speaker 1
Normally when it comes to spending.
00:07:21 Speaker 1
It ends up in.
00:07:22 Speaker 1
Two different buckets. It’s either the Gen. Z’s.
00:07:25 Speaker 1
Like the young kids who are.
00:07:26 Speaker 1
Out there spending frivolously.
00:07:29 Speaker 1
Or they’re cashed up baby boomers.
00:07:31 Speaker 1
They’re generally the traditional.
00:07:33 Speaker 1
Spenders when it comes to these kinds of.
00:07:38 Speaker 1
Spending increased across all the demographics, across all income and all age groups.
00:07:46 Speaker 1
Everybody was out there spending money.
00:07:50 Speaker 1
Now just to be clear, when I’m talking about all this spending, I am not referring to the essentials. This is all data on what’s called non discretionary spending. The stuff we choose to spend.
00:08:02 Speaker 1
Our money on.
00:08:03 Speaker 1
And right now, we like to splurge because in all of this data I found out that over half of Gen. Z and millennials, over half a third of Gen. X and around 20% of baby boomers said that they were intending on splurging this holiday season.
00:08:24 Speaker 1
Well, hold on. Aren’t the purse strings being tightened because the data is showing something very, very different? So what are they splurging on? Because this is the data that you’re going to use to create your Black Friday Cyber Monday promotions right through to the holidays. First up, restaurant groceries, travel absolutely no surprise there, our local cafes.
00:08:45 Speaker 1
Are always filled and I often, as I said before, find myself spitting through this line of people who are outside the door and this makes sense because spending 20 or $30.00 on food is an.
00:09:00 Speaker 1
You get the thrill of going out. You get the thrill of indulging your senses, and even this far post COVID we are craving being out and about and being around people. So it is no surprise to me that hospitality ranks the highest and food ranks the highest for where people are going to spend their money and of course travel we’re.
00:09:20 Speaker 1
All still trying to catch up.
00:09:22 Speaker 1
Now, for most of you who aren’t in the hospitality sector, where are consumers likely to be splurging? Well, you’ll be.
00:09:30 Speaker 1
Pleased to hear.
00:09:30 Speaker 1
That apparel.
00:09:32 Speaker 1
Guess what? Beauty and personal care and software were the top niches and this was repeated all around the world. US, UK and Australia.
00:09:43 Speaker 1
Great data is great. I know you guys absolutely love data. I say that with all the cynicism, but what does this mean for you? That any retail or E com store owners? Well, first up, if you haven’t figured it out yet, stop listening to the doom and gloom that is inside of Facebook groups and that the media is spreading and stop using it.
00:10:04 Speaker 1
An excuse for a decline in sales.
00:10:07 Speaker 1
When the truth is.
00:10:09 Speaker 1
It is likely that the reason your sales have slowed.
00:10:12 Speaker 1
If they have.
00:10:13 Speaker 1
Is that you have been neglecting other areas of your business. Generally we see that the marketing or customer acquisition and.
00:10:22 Speaker 1
Next, start looking at the trends. If people are spending and splurging on food, is that something that you can bring into your business? The first thing that pops into my head is when I am at the counter in Macy’s, there are always bottles of water and Godiva.
00:10:38 Speaker 1
Chocolates for sale now.
00:10:40 Speaker 1
That’s a simple way to increase your average.
00:10:42 Speaker 1
The value.
00:10:43 Speaker 1
And the customer experience.
00:10:45 Speaker 1
For you it might be pre packed luxuries like gingerbreads or chocolates or biz.
00:10:52 Speaker 1
Their Black Friday is traditionally a time when people spend on themselves, so give them an easy way to do so. You know that food is the highest thing that they’re spending their money on, and you know the areas that they’re going to be looking at. Can you find a way of combining the two?
00:11:10 Speaker 1
Get those food products, get the cross cells, the up cells and the cut up cells along with your shop, display your PO.
00:11:21 Speaker 1
Just get food into themselves if it if you can. If it works for you. I know just recently at my gym I don’t know what took them so long, but they finally got protein bars. I mean, they have a little cafe there, but I don’t necessarily want to buy a Panini or a coffee protein bar. On the other hand, I have 1:00 every single day.
00:11:42 Speaker 1
So having those on the counter is a great way for me to spend my money at the gym. So think laterally. How can you get those foodie products into your business?
00:11:54 Speaker 1
All right, now some of you may not be able to find food to make it fit, so it is time for you to look at what generally sells during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and I dive into the data for you. It’s OK. I’ll, I’ll.
00:12:08 Speaker 1
Just tell you.
00:12:08 Speaker 1
What it is topping the list is electronics, followed by books.
00:12:13 Speaker 1
That won’t actually surprise me.
00:12:15 Speaker 1
Jewellery, sporting goods and appliances.
00:12:18 Speaker 1
Now of course, if you don’t sell those kinds of products, you have to dig into your data. What have you tried before that worked? What have you tried before that didn’t work? Because that’s just as important as what did work. And really simply what generally sells well in November and early December, I mean.
00:12:37 Speaker 1
That’s just kind.
00:12:38 Speaker 1
Of a no brainer, right?
00:12:39 Speaker 1
Now, even though Black Friday is traditionally focused around discounting, it doesn’t mean you have to cut your profit margin.
00:12:47 Speaker 1
In my data research, Adobe reported that discounts hit record highs in 2022, and I’ve got a few reasons around why I think that might have happened. One is, I think a lot of with the supply chain issues we had a lot of people who were overstocked and had to clear out clear, clear out their inventory, so those discounts.
00:13:06 Speaker 1
With record highs and they peaked at an average of 25%.
00:13:12 Speaker 1
On Cyber Monday.
00:13:14 Speaker 1
Now there are some categories such as toys, and I know that a lot of you here are in the baby and kids, a lot of you listening are in the.
00:13:20 Speaker 1
Baby and kids industry now toys were.
00:13:22 Speaker 1
Discounted as much as.
00:13:24 Speaker 1
34% off computers 20% off, 18% off clothing.
00:13:31 Speaker 1
Now that is dollars out of your pocket, and for most of you listening a 34% discount once you have factored in your overheads, your cost of goods, payment, processing fees, all of the things 34% loss of profit could literally mean that you are paying your customers to buy from you.
00:13:52 Speaker 1
And that is not a good thing.
00:13:55 Speaker 1
So what does this mean?
00:13:56 Speaker 1
For you.
00:13:57 Speaker 1
Well, those die hard Black Friday shoppers, the ones that will wait for Black Friday Cyber Monday to make their purchases.
00:14:04 Speaker 1
They are going.
00:14:05 Speaker 1
To expect big discounts so that simple 5 or 10% off that you’re thinking about is not going to.
00:14:12 Speaker 1
Work. Don’t even bother it.
00:14:14 Speaker 1
Is just money out of your pocket.
00:14:15 Speaker 1
These people just taking advantage.
00:14:17 Speaker 1
Of you don’t try and.
00:14:19 Speaker 1
Beat the big guys by cutting price.
00:14:22 Speaker 1
Now, if you do think that your customers are price sensitive, it is a good idea to concentrate your best discounts on bundles, because this is going to increase your average order value and it is going to move more.
00:14:36 Speaker 1
Product while still.
00:14:37 Speaker 1
Being attractive to bargain hunters, so if you.
00:14:40 Speaker 1
Have buy 2.
00:14:41 Speaker 1
Get the third free. You’re actually putting that discount over several products, so it doesn’t end up being such.
00:14:48 Speaker 1
A great big.
00:14:49 Speaker 1
Loss and another tip, save your best offers or your best discounts for Cyber Monday, because that is the highest spending day across the.
00:15:00 Speaker 1
Nope. Now personally I can see why that is because I know that I will hold out to see what the deals are going to be, and then I make up my mind on what I’m going to buy. Like I I don’t necessarily have the FOMO thing on Black Friday because I’m not usually after a particular item. I’m just like, ohh. If it goes on special. If there’s a discount, if there’s a value add.
00:15:22 Speaker 1
Then I’ll look at buying.
00:15:24 Speaker 1
It so if you’re going to be doing any discounts or any big deals, make the best ones land.
00:15:31 Speaker 1
On Cyber Monday.
00:15:33 Speaker 1
Alrighty, so to wrap this podcast up Black Friday, Super Monday is a great opportunity for you to bring in a huge cash flow boost into your business.
00:15:42 Speaker 1
If you are thinking that you will just let it slide because you don’t have the time to put another promotion together, I can guarantee you that your customers will be looking at your competitors and spending their money elsewhere. So don’t let this opportunity pass you by. If you need help putting together the best promo for your retail or e-commerce store, make sure you check out my ultimate sales.
00:16:04 Speaker 1
Bundle bundle which will help you to create a high converting promotion that will bring in the sales and the.
00:16:13 Speaker 1
And best of all, you can put it together in just a couple of days. I will show you exactly how to do it.
00:16:18 Speaker 1
Now that is not a get out of jail free card for you to wait until the last minute if you want to check it out, head over to selenanight.com/B SB for Black, F for Friday and grab my crazy offer for a whopping 90% off.
00:16:35 Speaker 1
They only do this once a year now. I mentioned at the start of the show that the retail and e-commerce store owners that we are working with are seeing crazy successful results despite what the media are saying about the economy. And now you have a bit of an idea that the media are lying to you.
00:16:53 Speaker 1
Now, I’m sure you’re as intrigued.
00:16:55 Speaker 1
As I was about.
00:16:56 Speaker 1
What they’re actually doing to get those results?
00:17:00 Speaker 1
So I dug into it and what I found over and over again was that the increase in revenue and profit and even customers was largely as a result of internal changes within the business, not external factors such as the economy working with the team, our retail and e-commerce.
00:17:20 Speaker 1
Your owners were able to narrow down the constraints in their business. Those key areas where hold that were holding back their growth and when they put their focus and their attention into those areas.
00:17:32 Speaker 1
They saw significant financial results and the best part was that they didn’t have to do more. In fact, most of them are doing less, which makes my heart happy because no one should own a business that runs them into the ground.
00:17:50 Speaker 1
When these CEO’s buckled down and focused on what was needed to be done, rather than just getting stuck in the minutiae of everyday or distracted by the next brilliant idea, their bank accounts grew and I totally wish that for you too.
00:18:09 Speaker 1
Alrighty, that is all I have for you today on how to uncover the secrets of what is going to sell on Black Friday Cyber Monday. If you love love this episode, share it with another retailer. Share the love because the more people out there who are helping our customers just stay away from the big chain.
00:18:28 Speaker 1
Stores the better.
00:18:29 Speaker 1
Alrighty, I will see you back here. Same time, same place next.
00:18:33 Speaker 1
Week. So that’s a wrap. I’d love to hear.
00:18:38 Speaker 1
What insight you’ve gotten from this?
00:18:40 Speaker 1
Episode and how you’re.
00:18:41 Speaker 1
Going to put it into action.
00:18:43 Speaker 1
If you’re a social kind of person, follow me at the Celina night and make sure to leave a comment.
00:18:49 Speaker 1
And let me know.
00:18:51 Speaker 1
And if this episode made you think a little bit differently or gave you some inspiration, or perhaps gave you the kick that you needed to take action, then please take a couple of minutes to leave me a review.
00:19:04 Speaker 1
On your platform of choice, because the more.
00:19:07 Speaker 1
Reviews the show.
00:19:08 Speaker 1
Gets the more independent retail and e-commerce stores just like yours that we can help to.
00:19:14 Speaker 1
Scale and when that happens, it’s a win for you. A win for your community and a win for your customers. I’ll see you.
00:19:23 Speaker 1
On the next episode.