The long-standing essence of discounts and promos during Black Friday seems to be weakening in the past, more so this year. JDA Consumer Survey conducted its own observation; found out that there will be lesser promo offers this coming Black Friday.
JDA Consumer Survey constitutes 1,000 shoppers, in which 47% said they plan to skip this year’s Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Furthermore, 73% of the respondents prefer to go shopping after the holiday season, waiting for better deals such as Amazon Prime Day. Another 34% said they change their mind in joining the 2016 Black Friday, even though they participated last year.
Responses from the survey indicate a decreasing trend of shoppers during the sale event that started last year. The obvious mindset of the shoppers affects the overall relevance of Black Friday.
According to Paula Rosenblum, the managing partner at RSR research and Forbes contributor said, “The basis of Black Friday is long since dead — the kick-off to the holiday season on a four-day weekend”.
The head of Your Retail Authority, Lee Kent said that “The only thing that makes Black Friday is the deals”. Shoppers come in for the discounts, Lee added, “If you offer them, consumers will come, but if you offer them on other days, the consumer has choices. It’s that simple!”
Online shopping factors in
Online shopping contributes in the diminishing Black Friday’s shoppers. Furthermore, retail stores started offering pre-holiday sales which grab more attention. This instance takes the focus off from the highly anticipated holiday retail sale.
Last week, in an online discussion of industry heads of the Retailwire Brain Trust, believed that e-commerce is not the only aspect affecting Black Friday.
As what Rosenblum stated, “E-commerce wounded the goose that laid that golden egg, but the year that retailers opened on Thanksgiving, they killed it once and for all.”
The CEO of Black Monk Consulting, Ryan Mathews thought otherwise. He said, “It isn’t online shopping that is killing Black Friday, it’s the fact that consumers have caught on to the hustle. Look how many people do their ‘holiday shopping’ after the holidays or even the New Year to capture real discounts.”
Bob Phibbs, the President, and CEO of The Retail Doctor believed that the widely available discounted sales of the retailer spoiled the essence of Black Friday. He said, “With the always-discounted retailer always available, the substance of Black Friday is gone, even if the marketing is still around,”
For employee’s sake
Apple, on the other hand, ignored last year’s Black Friday promotion in all of its stores. The company toned down the significance of the anticipated holiday season sale.
They want to eliminate ‘door busters’ stress and focus their attention on caring for their employee’s welfare during holidays.
BrainTrust members share Apple’s empathy towards their employees.
Rainmaker Solutions CEO ED Rosenbaum said, “It’s almost like the meal is over and the dishes are done so let’s get in line. This is what I object strenuously to. Retail employees deserve to spend the holiday with their family.”
He added that “If retailers learned to forget the greed and fear of being outdone by the competition, Black Friday could become a sales day with none of these openings before the sun comes up”.
Retailers amass a huge amount of profit during Black Friday promotions but “have a deleterious effect on associates”, according to Richard J. George, a Professor of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph’s University. For the Ph.D. graduate, Black Friday promotions can somehow label as one of the “failed retail experiments”.
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