The new Black Friday

Black Friday is one of the biggest marketing strategies of retailers. Often considered the start of the holiday season, it’s attracted families and mobs alike, lining up for hours and fighting over the last hot new toy on the shelf. Black Friday started back in the early 1950s, but in the last few decades it has truly turned into its on holiday of sorts, with certain states even taking the day after Thanksgiving off as an official government holiday.

Over 20% of revenue for retailers takes place during the holiday season, with Black Friday being a major contributor to that figure. As such, marketing campaigns usually go into full force, highlighting deals, major discounts, free shipping, and early bird specials. It’s been so successful as a marketing strategy that it’s received its own backlash. Many have pushed back against this holiday which often means the low-paid retail works need to work the holiday to keep the retailers afloat. Some retailers have even stopped taking part in Black Friday entirely.

But this year will be different. With the pandemic, retailers are reconsidering how to celebrate this retailer holiday. In response, some have decided to do away with Black Friday sales and promotions entirely. Instead, they’ve decided to spread the Black Friday sales over a longer period of time, starting earlier than Nov. Best Buy is an example of this, where they will start their promotions in October, hoping to draw out the season and avoid the large crowds and group gatherings that take place on Black Friday that would contribute to the pandemic and make social distancing virtually impossible. Home Depot was one of the first retailers to announce similar plans.

Another benefit to starting these holiday promotions early is that resources are scarce. Shipping and deliveries are difficult to get and expensive for retailers. The mad shipping rush that happens so close to the holidays puts a strain on retailers. Starting these discounts in October allows them to stretch their resources and take advantage of lower shipping costs that are available when they’re further away from the holidays.

In fact, some retailers have come together to make it official on a new shopping holiday, Oct 10. 10.10, they call it. They’re hoping that this date will be the new promotional day that marks an  earlier holiday shopping season and will help the lagging sales of retailers all over the country. Hopefully it helps.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-13/a-new-shopping-holiday-aims-to-avoid-a-void-under-the-tree?sref=eIlJeYRQ

https://marker.medium.com/the-plot-to-kill-black-friday-43c23e25648f