Black Friday: is it the end of a fad?
There are certain things the US took from us Brits but just couldn’t quite make a success of. The Young Ones, Ab Fab, and Dairy Milk for example. However, there’s a lot of Americana we haven’t done well either – just look at how poor our junk food is in comparison. And it’s beginning to look like Black Friday is on the list too.
This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday rush was, well, a bit of a let-down. Everyone’s probably seen the viral video of a single customer turning up at Currys PC World for the early store opening. It’s not quite the post-apocalyptic scenes we’ve come to expect. Retailers aren’t saving their deals for the big day anymore. They’re moving away from the traditional one-day flash sale, and instead cutting prices for periods as long as two weeks. These Black Tag events are becoming more popular with both retailers and consumers alike. There’s no pressure to buy potentially unnecessary or unneeded products on the day: people can compare, decide and think purchases through instead.
As stated in The Guardian, Diane Wehrle of shopper traffic measuring company, Springboard, said “It was not Black Friday but mid grey week.” And this longer, Black Tag-style event is good news for retailers. Ian Geddes, head of retail at Deloitte, said to The Independent, “However, with Black Friday having grown from a day of promotions to what is now almost a month-long event, Black Friday event sales are far higher.”
Through our social listening activities using Microsoft Social Engagement (MSE), we found that major retailers started their Black Friday campaigns and events weeks in advance. From early September, Black Friday was mentioned around 7,000 times a week, with the Black Friday season starting in late October, where mentions grew to 37,000 a week. This shows that retailers are moving away from this static one or two-day event, and extending their deals and sales for a much longer timeframe.
Was it a case of bad timing?
One reason for the lacklustre turn out may have been the Autumn Budget. This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend coincided with the government announcing the new budget. This, combined with many young people talking about their money problems, may have accounted for the increased scrutiny around what a deal actually is.
People are wising up to what Black Friday really offers. Are they good deals, or are people lured into the pretence that they are? 3,000 people mentioned this idea, of what is a deal, with the majority agreeing that a deal is only a deal if it has a minimum of 25% off the original price.
And it wasn’t just the government’s timing that may have put people off shopping. 8,600 posts complained about the mass influx of Black Friday emails in their inboxes. Some went as far to say that they use Black Friday emails to decide which retailers and providers to unsubscribe from.
What next for retailers?
Well, it might seem obvious. Moving away from a one-day spectacular is the way forward for the majority of retailers. Customers want the time to peruse, decide and compare before making a final purchase – and a Black Tag event offers them exactly this.
Plus, people want to shop online. Last year’s online dominance continued with 2017’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday. People prefer to beat the crowds and shop online at home. So, retailers must be ready for this huge spike in traffic. Using the right cloud provider is vital if retailers are to cope with handling such large volumes of online shoppers.
Using MSE, retailers can keep an eye on what’s being said. From their brand and their products, to the general sentiment around sales, they can get the insight to discover what works and what doesn’t. For example, we used MSE to analyse and investigate the 213,000 social posts that mentioned Black Friday, and the 67,000 posts that talked about Cyber Monday. For next November, retailers should start looking at how they can use social listening tools to understand what their customers want. And with 89% of Black Friday and Cyber Monday social traffic going through Twitter and Instagram, it pays to use a tool that analyses all social platforms, rather than just one or two. Over 10,000 of the posts we listened to were set with intent. They were from people who wanted help, either to get more information or to get help with buying. If retailers can tap into this, and help their potential customers, they’re more likely to make more sales.
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