Black Friday: Where did it come from, where will it go?

First, a bit of background; Black Friday originated in America. As Thanksgiving always falls on the fourth Thursday in November, the following Friday is often observed as an unofficial holiday and a time of the year when businesses would promote big deals to encourage shoppers to spend.

It’s been so successful for stores both online and offline that the tradition has stuck and more and more countries have opted into this trend.

This year Black Friday will fall on Friday the 25th of November.

Changes in UK and US spending habits have also changed the way consumers shop around the Black Friday period.

This is why it’s important to consider these trends when strategizing your promotions for such a key date within the eCommerce industry.

Typically, the Black Friday period is one of the busiest for online and in-store purchases over the year with nearly 155 million American consumers shopping during Black Friday in 2021, with more than half of these sales taking place online.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant shoppers were still hesitant about heading to brick and mortar stores and so digital shopping saw a rapid increase in sales.

The most significant theme within the US? Black Friday isn’t considered just a one-day or even a one-weekend event with some retailers starting their promotions well before the actual date.

Over the past few years, Google trends have showcased that shoppers are researching and planning their purchases far earlier in the year, and most sales are actually completed before the day of Black Friday.

Due to this trend, retailers and consumers are expecting offers as early as 9 weeks prior to Black Friday.

This isn’t just a US phenomenon, however, since gaining popularity in the UK primarily between 2010 and 2013 leading to a number of retailers jumping in on the trend.

Online sales are again a huge part of this with around 73% of UK shoppers in 2021 stating they would prefer to shop online. There’s massive potential here for all retailers to boost their sales during this period due to the huge volume of sales data.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen trends of users searching for deals earlier and earlier and increasingly online for efficiency. We expect these trends to continue into 2022 – we’ll be there ready to help set up and guide you through the sales period.