Black Friday - Christmas Rally

Today is Black Friday and it's time to talk about the trends that those of us who sell online are seeing.

As you know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is generally considered to be the day that kicks off Christmas shopping. It is called Black Friday because it is supposed to be the day when brands go from being in the red to being in the positive.

Later, Cyber Monday also became popular. It got its name because brands saw an increase in their online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving. After the Thanksgiving turkey, Americans came back with a loaded finger to 1-Click on Amazon :-)

The truth is that, as of today, the trend goes far beyond two specific days, as we will see below.

Black Friday 2019 trends

1. Consolidation of Black Friday

In Spain, Black Friday began in 2012 with the help of companies like Amazon and eBay and what we can see is that it is now fully consolidated. And it seems that it has been with us for more than 8 years.

2. Black Week or Black November

More than a specific day, we can talk about Black Week or Black November. It is no longer just the Friday after Thanksgiving, but we can see how brands extend their offers throughout the whole month of November, or the week before Black Friday, as Amazon has done this year.

3. Cyber December

The same applies to Cyber Monday. What used to be localised to a specific day is now extending until Christmas. In Spain even more, because it will last until Epiphany. In other words, there is an increase in online commerce throughout the month of December.

4. Pros and cons of Black Friday

Pros

• It is a good time for companies to expand sales. Move from net to black.
• For consumers it is a good time to save some money if you only buy what you really need.

Cons

• High environmental impact due to logistics (packaging + transport). Although millions of people accessing the centre of large cities to do their Christmas shopping, it is also bound to have a big impact.
• Returns for impulse purchases.

We would certainly mitigate the disadvantages of Black Friday if we were to consume responsibly.

Christmas Rally

All in all, what can be seen is that we really have two months of intensive shopping before Christmas. That is to say, since Halloween, brands are already preparing for the Christmas Rally. Americans are extremely pragmatic and link promotions from one date to the next. They are the creators of modern marketing for a reason.