Black Friday 2020: A Patchworks round-up
December 23
After a year of lockdowns, we all knew Black Friday would look a little different this year. But while people couldn’t necessarily flock to the high street, shoppers headed to online stores in their millions, seeing ecommerce smash the records set by previous Black Friday sales.
Now the dust has settled and the bargains have been bagged, we caught up with some of our clients to see just how Black Friday looked for them. And we were absolutely blown away by their success stories.
So, without further ado, here’s a round-up of how Patchworks clients found Black Friday 2020.
Lounge Underwear
Lounge Underwear have been with Patchworks for almost two years, which means we’ve had the pleasure of watching their rapid growth. From staggering Black Friday sales to sell-out product launches, Lounge Underwear are consistently outperforming themselves – amassing more followers, more sales and more hype with every new event.
As one of our Sunday Times Fast Track 100 clients, we knew Lounge Underwear were in for a big day – but that doesn’t mean we weren’t blown away by their results.
With such an enormous following, combined with their multiple stores across the world, Lounge Underwear’s Black Friday promotions involve a lot of moving parts – which means it was all hands on deck for everyone involved. And, thanks to the infrastructure behind them, they were able to keep up with that extraordinary demand.
What were the highlights?
- Over 25 orders a second at peak
- A 270% increase in orders in the first hour year on year
- More sales in the first day of than the whole of last BFCM
- An increase in total orders of 213% year on year
- A 230% increase in revenue compared to BFCM 2019
“Patchworks’ service levels are amazing. On every big launch we’re on video calls to ensure that we’re monitoring all services together, which gives you real peace of mind. This year we had 24/7 support through the Black Friday period. We launched our sale at 7pm and managed to get to bed at around 1am. Fortunately, we had two keen Patchworkers sending us hourly health updates through the night until we were back in the office first thing.
Taking the worry about monitoring your services 24/7 away is invaluable. Just knowing your stack is talking with each touchpoint correctly and that it’s being monitored by external partners allows you to concentrate on looking forward rather than backwards!”
Jack Humphreys, Chief Operating Officer at Lounge Underwear
Purelei
Last year, Purelei’s Black Friday success was marred by oversold items and cancelled orders. 2020 was the total opposite, with the German jewellery brand turning what had been a weakness into a key strength – a fulfilment process they could be proud of. Not only did the brand see an amazing number of orders, but they had the tech and the support in place to process them seamlessly – with zero overselling.
One clever thing about Purelei’s sale was their decision to disable the checkout process ahead of the Black Friday sale, giving shoppers the chance to add products to their basket ahead of time. Then, once the sale officially started and the checkout was reopened, those early browsers could complete their purchase straight away.
What were the highlights?
- Over 100,000 orders processed in November
- 19,000 orders despatched within a single 24-hour period
- Over 20,000 orders in the first 30 minutes
- A disabled checkout process that allowed shoppers to add items to their basket before the sale started
- No oversold items
- A smooth transition of orders from Shopify to Peoplevox
“We learnt a lot since last year, and have arranged weekly catch-ups with the Patchworks team. That was a clear advantage this year – I’m glad about the regular exchange with you and the ideas we have. We had great support, with Patchworks helping to monitor the systems alongside the Purelei team.”
Ashley Krishnasamy, Business Process & Technology Manager at Purelei
Jaxxon
Jaxxon are a new addition to the Patchworks family, having gone live with their Shopify Plus x Peoplevox integration just a few weeks before Black Friday weekend. Specialising in men’s accessories and Italian-made chains, the California-based brand have been making waves in America, earning them an impressive following online.
Enjoying their first Black Friday on the Patchworks platform, Jaxxon saw some jaw-dropping results – including exceeding their entire revenue for 2019 in a single week.
What were the highlights?
- Jaxxon’s revenue for the week of 22nd-29th of November 2020 exceeded their revenue for the whole of 2019
- Black Friday beat the whole of November 2019 in revenue and orders – all in a single day
- 2020 has, so far, seen a 712% increase in orders compared to last year
- A new confidence in the brand’s inventory and fulfilment processes, allowing them to focus on delivering a fantastic customer experience
“I think that Patchworks is very impressive. We were confident and impressed, thanks to the customer service that was delivered to us and the knowledge of the Patchworks team, with 24/7 support available via Slack – something I wish all of our partners had enabled with us.”
Josh Pierce, Co-founder of Jaxxon
Manière De Voir
Manière De Voir have been a part of the Patchworks family since 2017, and we’ve loved seeing how the brand has developed over these past few years. Since their launch in 2014, the UK-based fashion brand has amassed a huge cult following – landing them on the prestigious Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list for 2020.
With such an impressive following, it’s no surprise Manière De Voir’s Black Friday was an incredible success. But it’s not just their Black Friday sales that beat records – the entire year has seen the brand grow exponentially, exceeding even their CEO’s expectations. And with 22,515 units sold in the first hour of their Black Friday promotions, Manière De Voir certainly have a lot to celebrate.
What were the highlights?
- Manière De Voir sold a staggering 151,409 units over five days of promotions
- A record-breaking 22,515 units were sold in the first hour
- Sales were up an incredible 212% compared to Black Friday weekend 2019
- Thanks to an upgraded version of the Patchworks platform, general accuracy and transfer of data improved significantly
- Overselling was all but eliminated
- Confidence in a platform that can process over 40,000 orders an hour, with hypercare support for busy periods
“Black Friday 2020 and the year in general has been absolutely amazing for Manière De Voir and everyone who works for the business. We have grown faster than even the CEO anticipated.
During Black Friday, Patchworks were on hand 24/7, monitoring our orders, sell-through, units, the lot. All my warehouse teams have instant access to Patchworks engineers via Slack, and trust me when I say this it’s like they are waiting for you to reach out – instant reply."
Riaz Mohamed - Warehouse Manager
Motel Rocks
British fashion label Motel Rocks joined the Patchworks ranks just a few weeks before Black Friday, launching with their Shopify Plus x Dynamics Business Central x Peoplevox integration.
With the right tech in place ahead of their BFCM promotions, the brand were able to handle the unprecedented influx of orders they saw throughout the week, with figures well exceeding their highest expectations. Even after Motel Rocks wrapped up their Black Friday promotions, the brand is seeing an extraordinary level of sales, setting them up to have a record-breaking last quarter on their hands.
What were the highlights?
- A 600% increase in revenue compared to last year’s BFCM week – surpassing even Motel Rocks’ most positive forecasts
- Growth across all sites, with the US store seeing a 1200% increase compared to 2019
- Black Friday marked the brand’s first-ever £1 million day
“We only had Peoplevox and Patchworks in place for four weeks prior to BFCM, and it performed really well. We’re now running pick and pack 24 hours a day, with more knowledge and data at our fingertips to improve processes for the future. I don’t like to consider the position we would be in right now if we’d had our old systems in place.”
Peter Giles, Managing Director at Motel Rocks
Muscle Nation
With their Black Friday promotions attracting 20,000 live visitors at the launch time and topping $2 million in just 20 minutes, Muscle Nation are a great example of just how well early BFCM planning can pay off. And with an integration setup that could handle the heat, the brand was able to process a record-breaking number of orders seamlessly.
One impressive detail from Muscle Nation’s sales was their decision to add an upselling offer, giving customers a free gift pack if they spent $200. When their customers reached the checkout, they were reminded of how much more they needed to spend to qualify for the free gift, giving them that extra incentive to go back and do a little more shopping. While deep discounting means most brands see a decrease in their average order value during Black Friday sales, Muscle Nation actually managed to increase the value of their customers’ baskets.
Another unique upselling offer, which added $580,000 to their overall revenue in November, was a pop-up that appeared when customers headed to the checkout, giving them a chance to stock up on add-ons like shakers, towels, underwear, socks, gym bags and supplement packs. From there, customers could simply tap and add the extra products to their cart – which thousands did.
What were the highlights?
- This year, Muscle Nation's BFCM sale hit $4.3 million within the first hour, more than double the first-hour figures from 2019
- The sales reached $2 million in just 20 minutes
- Over $10 million gross sales for November, with almost 50,000 orders and over 300,000 items sold
- Nearly 20,000 live shoppers were browsing the site at once
- Over 9,000 checkouts per minute
- An upselling offer added $580,000 to Muscle Nation’s sales for November
“Patchworks was a big factor in helping our Black Friday run seamlessly. Their system was able to handle our volume of orders and sync with our warehouse system perfectly. Without them, we would have had massive delays in orders arriving into our shipping system.
Their support throughout the Black Friday period has been impeccable, with 24/7 support allocated during this time. Without their platform and our software system, it would have taken six to eight weeks to fulfil the 50,000 orders we received. With this system, it took 10 working days.”
Nathan Anthony, CEO & Owner of Muscle Nation
A round of applause
We’re thrilled to see so many Patchworks clients breaking records this Black Friday – especially after 2020’s lockdowns and store closures. And with more people shopping online than ever before, it’s wonderful to see how the Patchworks platform made managing those influxes of sales easier – not just for our clients, but for their customers too.
Cheers to that!
