- December 4, 2014
- 4:54 pm
- Mary Ann McGrath
- no comments
Why Black Friday and Cyber Monday are Passe
Retail analysts have labeled shopping revenues on this past Black Friday and Cyber Monday “disappointing.” The number of shoppers over the four-day long Thanksgiving weekend decreased by more than 5% in comparison with 2013. In addition, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that revenues were down 11%. The NRF blamed “early holiday promotions” as a key reason for the sales slump. In other words, shoppers bought less over the weekend because they had been buying more before Thanksgiving. I suspect that shoppers, as rational humans, understand that stores and sales will be around after Thanksgiving.
In my opinion by elongating these sales retailers themselves have killed the goose that initially laid this Golden Egg. Consumers are incessantly pelted with “sale” solicitations. In anticipation of Black Friday, stores began opening on Thanksgiving. This year the mark-downs began earlier in November. My email was filled with Black Friday discounts from online retailers. (Hey, Guys, you were supposed to wait until Monday!) On Tuesday I discovered that, no, I had not missed the discounts; it is now Cyber Week. (Whew!) My favorite message came from a car dealer that thought my Thanksgiving turkey-coma might prompt me to attend their “doorbuster” to purchase a new vehicle.
Good Marketers know that effective promotions have a beginning and a clear expiration. The goal of such promotions is to motivate shoppers to buy now or to buy more. By tauting endless sales, marketers underestimate consumer savvy, denigrate brands by focusing on price, and desensitize consumers to legitimate sales. After experiencing day-after-day, week-after-week and even month-after-month of “Everything-on-Sale Sales”, the urgency to grab a bargain withers. Sanity dictates that you lend a deaf ear. You learn that there is no reason to purchase anything at “manufacturers suggested retail” price, since there are overwhelming odds that a 20% to 60% discount will either fall into your lap or can be found with five minutes of Google-time.
A second retail mistake that I have not heard discussed may stem from naming these days. The labels Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Blackout Wednesday (the night before Thanksgiving when returning college students presumably reunite in their hometown bars) were created by Marketers, not consumers. The U.S. is not a communal culture, but rather people value individuality and freedom. Even when we act in concert, we tend not to admit it. Creating the convention that shopping is required either in-store or on-line on certain days may serve as a disincentive. Millennials in particular avoid labels and scripts. So to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday or Cyber Week may be perceived as a cliche.
I encourage all of you to enjoy the holidays, shop if, when and where you want and participate in all the joys of the season. Even at 60% off, the best parts of this wonderful season may not come from a store.