For over a century, American retailers have intensified their marketing attack and increased discounts proceeding thanksgiving, especially on Friday, which has become widely known as Black Friday.
The day after Thanksgiving, many Americans have a day off. And let retailers take advantage of this with "Black Friday" : the day on which all kinds of shops offer specific discounts en masse. "Black Friday" has been the official start of the Christmas season in the US for years. The large discounts encourage people en masse to stock up on gifts and decorations. This often results in hysterical scenes and long queues.
Black Friday : How It Came About ?
There are several theories about the origin of the term "Black Friday". The first, and oldest theory, dates back to the 1960s. "Black Friday" was first organized in the city of Philadelphia. On that day there was a lot of traffic in and around the city. "Black Friday" refers to the bustle of that crowd.
In the early 1980s, a different theory emerged for the first time. US retailers would get out of the red for the first time in the year on "Black Friday" and effectively begin to turn a profit. The interpretation of this is not so much to be taken literally: shopkeepers who only start making a profit at the end of November, would not last long.
Its symbolic meaning is that the Christmas season is invaluable to shopkeepers. We have been spending a lot of money around the end of the year for decades, and that will not change anytime soon. "Black Friday" is by far the busiest day of the year for US retailers.
The cyber monday
It was created for technology enthusiasts on a special day in which most of the latest generation devices will be sold at unbeatable prices. It is called "Cyber monday", the cyber Monday, and takes place precisely on the Monday following " Black Friday ". This marketing term was created by Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation and Scott Silverman in 2005 who had witnessed the hefty discounts promoted by an e-commerce site; this initiative expanded like wildfire and progressively involved many other online stores, so much so that it was the National Retail Federation itself that sponsored it as a commercial event, in which online retailers offer irresistible promotions to their web patrons.
Both black friday and cyber monday represent statistical indicators on how much the consumers of the many countries that adhere to it possess the ability and willingness to spend.
Financial analysts observe and carefully study the spending curves that soar during the week of black friday and cyber monday; international stock exchanges were also positively affected by the two events.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: What's the Difference?
The big difference with Black Friday is that these deals only apply online, hence the name 'Cyber Monday'. Black Friday came about because stores with good offers responded to the increase in shopping for the holidays.
However, online stores seized the opportunity to start their own promotion in honor of online shopping. This took place the following Monday and was therefore referred to as Cyber Monday. All in all, they are both events that offer great discounts because of the holidays.
Worldwide popularity is increasing
Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday originated in America and it certainly shows in its popularity. However, the event is gaining ground in other parts of the world and in many cases this growth in adoption is only just beginning. So there is still a lot of room for growth.
More of a season than an event
We could therefore say that it is an event that runs from November 27 to November 30, but the consumer and therefore also the retailers think differently about this. Consumers start looking for deals in Google early in November and as a result, companies also start their promotional campaigns earlier.
Every retailer wants to be the first to grab the attention of the customers. It is becoming less of a standalone event and increasingly the culmination of a season in which customers are actively looking for and expect to find bargains.
Not just for large retailers
Black Friday and Cyber Monday present a growing opportunity for any retailer, but in turn also provide fierce competition. Smaller retailers competing against larger companies often don't have the big budgets to compete at the same level.
If you do well as a retailer, you will have a loyal audience and existing customers you can rely on. It is precisely this advantage that you can use to compensate for a smaller advertising budget. For example, by enticing your existing customers to promote your actions in their social network.