To those of you out there celebrating (approximately one-third of shoppers to be exact), Happy Black Friday!
This year Black Friday falls on November 29, which gave us the longest pre-Black Friday shopping season in the last five years—AND the shortest shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our annual Checkout survey reported that 45% of all shoppers said they would be taking advantage of the holiday deals happening before or on Thanksgiving.
There were many deals to choose from, with brands releasing Black Friday “pre-sales” shortly after Halloween. Kohl’s was the first to drop their holiday deals on November 4, while Amazon’s Black Friday Countdown and Best Buy’s ‘Beat the Rush’ sale had some of the top deals around.
Some shoppers even started their holiday shopping back in July. A select group of shoppers (18%) reportedly completed their holiday shopping during midsummer sales, such as Amazon Prime Day. In fact, Amazon’s sales for 2019’s two-day event were higher than the online giant’s sales during 2018’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
Since July, it may have seemed like there was no shortage of ads leading up to Black Friday, brands actually held back on seasonal campaigns this year. Unlike the Santa-filled Coca-Cola campaigns of yore, brands are shifting their marketing budgets from large seasonal affairs to always-on strategies and targeting shoppers year-round.
For now, retailers continue to hold space for Black Friday, saving their best deals for the big day. But with these shopping season developments, will Black Friday still have a role to play? Retailers and brands would be wise to pay attention to evolving shopper motivations and behaviors as they prepare for 2020.
Image Source: Unsplash
Contributed By: Megan McCaslin, I&S Planner, Integer Denver
