Web giant bol.com was busier on Black Friday than on the busiest days before Sinterklaas and Christmas. Both in sales and number of orders, Black Friday surpassed other peak days.
This is what Emerce knows following an interview with managing director Huub Vermeulen. This year, the online shop participated for the third time in Black Friday, the shopping day that blew over from the United States. This year, for the first time, more was sold on Black Friday than on other days. Although, according to Vermeulen, Sinterklaas and Christmas did not lose popularity. While on Black Friday everything arrives on one day, purchases for Sinterklaas and Christmas are spread over several weeks.
Flexible shell decreases
As the rush on Black Friday also creates logistical challenges, bol.com starts preparations as early as March. For instance, forecasts are already passed on to logistics partner Ingram Micro in good time. "What you see is that flexibility disappears. In a downturn, logistics parties always have extra capacity to turn to. But when the economy picks up fast, like now, that flexible shell decreases, with the risk that promises around ordering and delivery are not met. Then you have to start thinking about how flexibility is going to be organised."
To cope with the crowds, bol.com has been deploying certain tricks for several years, such as offering discounts to customers who order early in the day, in order to pull the logistical pressure forward. The delivery time is also adjusted for some items in the range.
