Black Friday and Cyber Monday – The what, when, and why

In addition to being a profitable day in itself, Black Friday officially marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season – or as we like to call it: The bread and butter for retailers. But how is it different from Cyber Monday, and what can you do to beat your competitors? Stay tuned to get the answers.

Black Friday in a nutshell

Black Friday is the mainstream name of the Friday after the American Thanksgiving Day. The actual date of Black Friday shifts every year, but it always falls at the end of November and is generally considered to be the biggest shopping day of the year.

Black Friday started as an offline affair focused on brick-and-mortar shops. In other words, the main attraction was in-store discounts. On Black Friday, retailers make such irresistible offers that bargain-hungry shoppers of all ages stream into the physical stores to commence their Christmas shopping.

In recent years, however, online sales on Black Friday have increased greatly. On Black Friday 2019, 84.2 million Americans chose to shop in-store, while a whopping 93.2 million Americans chose to shop online.

When we examine recent data on buying behavior, it becomes evident that product categories such as electronics and appliances are particularly popular on Black Friday.

Consumers rush into the shops to buy televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, power tools, and other big-ticket items which are less ideal to buy online. This is not surprising. Not only do people want in-person guidance on such items; they also want to avoid expensive shipping fees.

Some brands and retailers extend their Black Friday sales to last an entire week with new discounts each day. This phenomenon is known as Black Week.

Then what about Cyber Monday?

After the great success of Black Friday, new retail holidays emerged such as Singles Day and – you guessed it – Cyber Monday. This title refers to the Monday immediately after the American Thanksgiving – four days after to be exact. The date changes each year, but it always falls between November 25th and December 2nd.

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The phenomenon of Cyber Monday came about in November 2005 as a direct reaction to Black Friday. The term was first introduced in a press release by the American National Retail Federation but was eventually adopted in all Western countries.

For retailers, the purpose was to help smaller businesses compete with the big brands who gave great in-store discounts on Black Friday. For consumers, it was appealing to be able to stay at home without missing the best bargains of the season. It was a win-win.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday differ in their placement of activity as well as in the consumers’ buying behavior. In contrast to Black Friday, Cyber Monday primarily takes place online – hence the name “Cyber Monday”.

Data on buying behavior reveal that product categories such as clothing, accessories, books, toys, and makeup are particularly popular on Cyber Monday. It’s safe to say that these smaller items are more economical to ship and potentially return than, for instance, a television or washing machine.

But what’s with all the fuzz and frenzy?

For retailers of almost all industries, Black Friday and Cyber Monday provide unique opportunities to target new audiences with carefully designed campaigns and product offers. On these national shopping days, there is intense competition among retailers to win the favor of the consumers.

Obviously, the short-term goal is selling lots of products and gaining revenue here and now. The long-term goal is to create brand awareness and gain new, loyal customers which you can benefit from for years to come. Luckily, both goals can be achieved with the right approach – and we are here to tell you how.

We have created an epic Black Friday e-book containing our top tactics to have a successful shopping season. You can download it completely free of charge by clicking this button:

In this e-book, we will teach you how to conquer Black Friday and kick off the shopping season. Whether you are a brick-and-mortar store, an online store, or a hybrid, we’ve got you covered. All tactics mentioned may not apply to you, but you can be sure to gain some valuable insights which will help you prioritize your efforts this shopping season.

Our top tactics to have a successful shopping season

By the way, we promise that our advice won’t simply be to “cut your costs and make better offers than your competitors”. Lowering your prices further may not even be an option for you if you want to keep a healthy bottom line. We completely get that. Luckily, there are other and more beneficial ways to win the race.

Would you like a sneak peek before downloading it? Your wish is our command. Here are the main tactics we cover in our Black Friday e-book:

1. Grow your mailing list from September to November
2. Host live events – you can thank us later
3. Offer free shipping and multiple shipping solutions
4. Apply behavioral psychology to your sales- and marketing efforts
5. Implement a fair and easy-to-grasp return policy
6. Be active on social media
7. Take advantage of influencer marketing
8. Recover lost sales with abandoned cart messages

Of course, every chapter in the e-book includes concrete tips and tricks on when and how to implement the tactics above. Moreover, each chapter is packed with examples from the real world.

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