Miscellaneous Monday - History of Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Part 1)
Black Friday was originally named such by a print publication due to the number of factory workers that were not showing up to work the day after Thanksgiving, effectively 'blacking out' production.
In recent times retailers have used the term to refer to the day when they started to turn a profit - going into the 'black'.
However, due to the negative connotation that is usually associated with the color black (Black Plague, Black Monday, etc.) the National Retail Association tried to change the name to 'Big Friday' -> but that was never accepted and the term Black Friday remains in use today. It conjures imagery of shoppers finding great deals and retailers dealing with the most foot traffic they see in a single day.
Cyber Monday started in 2005 to compete against the deals that brick and mortar retailers were advertising and has become the largest e-commerce day of the year annually ever since.
So, on this Miscellaneous Monday I ask you two questions:
1. Do you prefer the in-store experiences of Black Friday or online experience of Cyber Monday?
2. Do you have any crazy Black Friday/Cyber Monday experiences/deals to share?
Have a great week ahead!
6 comments
What a fun topic! It feels like the deals have been starting earlier and earlier. I've already scored a couple of things on my holiday list, but nothing exciting to share here.
There were a couple of years when I went out with friends to do the crazy early shopping - it was mostly just for the experience and fun with friends though. I prefer shopping online so I can easily compare prices and get cash back from Rakuten and Coupon Cabin.
Does anyone have any good deals to watch for this week?
This is a very interesting topic and I have learned something new today about the history of Black Friday so thank you! :D
We do have Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the Netherlands but it pales in comparison with how crazy and hardcore people go in the US (we have all seen the craze at Walmart).
From what I can see, prices are usually "up to X%" discount which might look appealing at first glance because of the big number but once you actually look into it, it's actually a relatively small discount.
Personally, I prefer Cyber Monday as I do nearly 90% of my shopping online. I do also lean more towards the tech side so deals on any PC hardware I can grab to upgrade my PC, any software or games and such, would be instant win for me.
Great topic @Andy Gladstone! I absolutely will not go to stores at midnight or at any time on Black Friday. I'm definitely a Cyber Monday kinda gal! I'm not looking for anything specific yet as I'm waiting for lists from my sisters so I can buy my nieces and nephews gifts. This meme says how I really feel about Black Friday though!
Awesome post @Andy Gladstone and to answer your questions...
1. I personally prefer to not shop as a consumer on black friday - having come from a retail background in the past, I really empathise for small retailers who don't have the margin strength to do crazy deals so try and support them. However, as a marketer, I know that this is a very valid and useful campaign window.
2. We launched our own little black friday / cyber monday deail as a Marketplace partner today. Not sure if its OK for me to link our page on the community (I'm a noob!) so I've added just the graphic for now...
Would love feedback on it.
