Black Friday just keeps on growing.
The sale day started off in the United States as a way to mark the start of the bumper Christmas shopping season, which traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving. (Although a lot of stores start putting up decorations for Christmas well before then!)
Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday of November – so Black Friday comes on the fourth Friday. This year, it’s Friday 25 November. The UK hasn’t really imported Thanksgiving, but we sure have imported Black Friday, with many High Street retailers and other big stores getting in on the action.
Here’s all you need to know about Black Friday this year.
It’s no longer just the Friday
Black Friday started as, well, a day. It now extends across the weekend, all the way up to so-called “Cyber Monday” which used to be a day where people were encouraged to shop online. Nowadays a lot of the normal “Black Friday” shopping experiences also happen online, so Cyber Monday doesn’t quite hold the internet so exclusively. It’s more of a day where there is a bit of a focus on technology sales specifically – but there’s still plenty of tech goods available on Black Friday! And some retailers get started on “Black Friday” deals weeks early.
That means if you want to do a Black Friday promotion, be prepared for people to turn up on a normal multi-coloured Saturday looking for the same deal. You don’t have to offer it of course, but this is something to keep in mind.
Outreach to media is a good idea – and should be done early
Consumers eager for a deal don’t have time to visit every website offering Black Friday sales, which is why journalists and outlets will look to provide lists of “best Black Friday deals” noting particularly cheap items. This is where customers will go when they really want to save serious amounts of money, not just one or two pounds – and is a great place for actual discovery. A lot of shoppers might not realise they want your product before they see just how cheap/discounted it is, so they might never pop its name into a search engine. A deals roundup could change that.
Journalists often produce these lists well ahead of time, and will have a lot on during the actual day. If you know what offer you might be making, don’t be afraid to reach out to media outlets well before the week of Black Friday. Everyone likes to be prepared.
Watch Single’s Day for trends
China’s Single’s Day on November 11 is the only shopping day that rivals Black Friday – indeed, it’s actually the biggest shopping day in the world, and has now spread well outside of China. The markets involved might not match the UK perfectly, but it will still be a good idea to watch the biggest trends for Single’s Day from afar, and get an idea on what works and doesn’t.
