The days of literal seas of shoppers lining up around buildings in the twilight hours following their Thanksgiving feasts just a day before may finally be coming to an end.
Since 1952, Americans have informally recognized the Friday after Thanksgiving (the fourth Friday of November) as the best chance to snatch up high-value goods at a fraction of their normal value. While the status of Black Friday as being the busiest shopping event of the year has often been exaggerated, tales of poor customers being trampled by ravenous hordes of shoppers or even all-out physical altercations between people competing for the same product have done wonders to fuel the retail myth.
Black Friday had a good run. But his chaotic fervor, characterized by insane deals on electronics, vehicles, toys, clothes, and everything else you can think of, is finally dying — and being replaced with a tradition which seems far more reasonable (and notably less deadly).
According to Business Insider, retail stores around the country are ditching the typical one-day-a-year sales event for a month-long stretch — effectively paving the way for a “Black November.”
The changes have been almost instantaneous. Data aggregated by Adobe Analytics shows that online sales reached $30.4 billion from November 1-22 in 2017, representing an 18 percent jump from the year earlier. Thanksgiving day sales also soared 29 percent, showing that consumers are leaving behind the practice of waiting until the day after.
Retailers have been catching on to the trend. Business Insider further reports that Target, for example, offered Black Friday deals to its credit card holders two days before such deals typically take place.
Of course, we can’t talk about Black Friday’s demise without mentioning Cyber Monday — which has become the largest online shopping event of the year. 2017 saw a new record for the budding shopping holiday, with online sales totaling $6.59 billion. The event also saw a notable (and admittedly predictable) change in consumer behavior, with mobile transactions accounting for $2 billion according to TechCrunch.
This disturbance to Black Friday’s supposed historic dominance in retail sales should be a welcome one — to both consumers and vendors alike. The idea of hordes of shoppers flooding brick-and-mortar stores should become a relic of the past. While the surge in activity as a result of special deals will inevitably result in more than a few late deliveries in addition to other human errors, it is objectively preferable to the added stress of traffic, inventory shortages, and exhausted staff.
Spreading sales over a month rather than a single-day shop-pocalypse is another welcome trend everyone involved will come to appreciate.
Black November is here.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
