Why Tours Need to Rethink Black Friday: 5 Tips to Takeaway from PayPal

Luckily, we recently sat down with Emily Schneider, Director of Pay Later Success Management at PayPal, to decode how tours and attractions can leverage Black Friday - a period traditionally dominated by retail.

Key Takeaways:

1. Start Early: Begin your promotional efforts well before Black Friday to capture early shoppers.
2. Extend Your Promotions: Consider running promotions beyond just Black Friday, potentially throughout the entire holiday season.
3. Leverage Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Implement and promote BNPL options to attract more customers and potentially increase order values.
4. Clear Communication: Clearly articulate your refund and cancellation policies to avoid confusion.
5. Target Last-Minute Shoppers: Promote your experiences as perfect last-minute gifts, especially in the week leading up to Christmas.

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Want to dive deeper into these strategies?

Watch our full webinar recording below:

Now, let's explore the insights Emily shared with us.

1. The Rise of Experience Gifting

"In this post-COVID world, I really feel like people are even more appreciative of experiential gifts, tours, attractions, things that they can do with their loved ones, not just give to their loved ones," explains Schneider.

This shift in consumer behavior is backed by data - Deloitte's 2023 holiday retail survey shows a 10% year-over-year growth in holiday experience spending, from $576 to $632.

The numbers are compelling: 200.4 million consumers shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday according to National Retail Federation, and 66% of holiday shoppers plan to shop during Thanksgiving week - a significant increase from 49% in 2022.

2. Early Bird Strategies

Timing is crucial. "The holiday purchasing season has expanded in the past few years," notes Schneider. "People are thinking about their gifting even earlier."

This is particularly relevant for tour operators, as 48% of high-value spenders start their holiday shopping before October ends. Schneider recommends utilizing multiple communication channels:

"Early messaging and communications to your consumers, utilizing your available communication channels, whether it be email newsletters, social media, if you're doing any paid media, paid display advertising - including some of the messaging about holiday deals in those communications to your consumers, so they can start thinking about a more unique gifting experience for their loved ones."

3. The Power of Payment Flexibility

One of the webinar's key insights was the impact of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options on sales. PayPal data shows a 35%* increase in cart size with Pay Later offers compared to standard transactions. This trend is particularly strong among younger demographics, with Gen Z and Millennials leading BNPL adoption.

"Pay Later average order values are about 33% higher than standard PayPal transaction AOVs, and we believe that that is primarily around that consumers have the flexibility to pay over time," shares Schneider.

"So when they're choosing between adding that third or fourth person, giving them that flexibility in how they can pay for their transaction over time and have it fit within their budget really lends itself to this type of retail experience."

_{(*Globally, Pay Later AOVs are 35%+ higher than standard PayPal AOVs for SMBs. Internal Data Analysis of 68,374 SMB across integrated partners and non integrated partners, November 2022. Data inclusive of PayPal Pay Later product use across 7 markets.)}

4. Seasonal Business Advantage

For seasonal operators concerned about selling future experiences, Schneider offers a practical perspective:

"Think about when consumers plan trips - they plan months and months in advance. If I'm planning a trip to go down to Florida or something like that, it's not something I do spur of the moment. I mean, maybe some people do it spur of the moment, but most people have plenty of forethought in booking plane tickets, booking hotel reservations, et cetera."

This planning mentality, combined with payment flexibility, creates a perfect opportunity for early sales. As Schneider points out, "That's how Buy Now, Pay Later can lend itself in that as well. I'm not paying for this all upfront. I'm paying over time."

5. Last-Minute Opportunity

One unique advantage for experience providers is the ability to capture last-minute holiday shoppers. "Last minute gifting around Experiences could be a really cool play as well for things that consumers can buy in that December 18th to 24th period," suggests Schneider.

"I can't physically get a gift to someone during that time period, but I can buy them this amazing experience, send it to them via email, and then they can take advantage of it at some point in the future."

Ready to implement these strategies for your business?

Our experts can help you set up our PayPal integration with BNPL options and optimize your holiday sales strategy. Book a demo today to learn how RocketRez can help maximize your Black Friday success.