Black Friday has become an American tradition to kick off the holiday season, accounting for the busiest shopping day of the entire year. The Friday after Thanksgiving was a day that many individuals had off of work and took to get ahead on their Christmas shopping. Many retailers began to take advantage of this trend by offering sales and getting their revenue out of the red and into the black, meaning that they were making up for their losses, hence the name, Black Friday.
In 2018, the average shopper spent 1,000 dollars for a grand total of 717.5 billion dollars spent on Black Friday. Many stores even hire seasonal workers to help manage the crowds and assist shoppers. In the past, retailers could look at their historical sale data and trends to determine which items to offer sales on and how great of a discount they can give. However, with the advent of Cyber Monday, retailers have been able to use much more detailed information to inform their decisions. For example, Amazon is able to collect data on the items their users view, purchase, and add or remove from their carts, giving the company greater insight into the behavior of their costumers. From this, an analytic team is able to predict how many people will purchase a certain item and which products will bring the highest revenue. Sometimes, companies even increase the prices of their products to compensate for the discounts they will offer during the holiday season.
With the convenience of online shopping, more and more people have been skipping out on the long lines and early mornings of Black Friday. The discounts offered on Cyber Monday have even increased the sales of full-price items. Many online shops even offer pre-sales leading up to Thanksgiving.
It has been found that expensive items that you would not regularly purchase have greater discounts on Black Friday while smaller items that might be given as a gift have better discounts on Cyber Monday. In the past couple of years, the largest discounts have been offered by large retailers like Walmart, followed by Macys's and Kohl's.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2018/11/21/the-data-behind-black-friday-cyber-monday/#5036729c7d92
https://www.businessinsider.com/is-black-friday-or-cyber-monday-better
I think the reason that Cyber Monday is becoming more and more popular is because of the uprising of technology and online shopping. There was an annual survey by SCOR and UPS, that showed 51% of shoppers make their purchases online compared to 47% in 2014. Black Friday I agree, is an annual American Tradition, but with Cyber Monday available up to a few days in advance, I think in the future Cyber Monday will eventually beat the original "Black Friday Experience
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I agree that Cyber Monday will beat Black Friday. For me, I love getting deals from stores but I hate having to deal with the craziness in stores. It is always extremely crowded and can be difficult to find things since many people go as soon as the stores open. I always feel like someone is in my way and people are constantly pushing and shoving. The idea of being able to buy things for a good price online is very appealing, since you don't have to drive all the way to the mall let alone need leave your bed. Shopping online also makes it much easier to find the things you want since you can browse the website for as long as you desire, and they will be more likely to have your sizes.
ReplyDeleteCyber Monday does seem to be increasing in popularity with the rise of technology. I find online shopping more convenient than shopping in person. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as any other special discount days, seem like great opportunities for businesses. With their collection of data and prediction of what consumers will buy, stores and companies can adjust their pricing accordingly. The fact that these sale days are right near the holidays is no coincidence- as people intend to buy gifts, they will be shopping more around that time. Sales will already be increased, but discounts just add more incentive for consumers to purchase. It's interesting to know the difference in which items have discounts on the two different days. I think discounts make people more likely to buy things they wouldn't previously purchase; to a consumer, a sale is beneficial to them, but in reality it may be a greater opportunity for the company.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments above! Obviously, shopping online is much more convenient than going out to buy stuff. As long as you have the devices and the wifi, you can get the same discount without having to get up early in the morning and stand in a long line. I think another reasons is that people just want to enjoy the discount, and they are not in a hurry to use the goods they bought, which means that they don't have to use them on the same day after they buy them. Therefore, many people choose online shopping and accept the few days delivery time to bring more convenience to themselves.
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