We’re less than a month away from the biggest shopping days of the year – Black Friday & Cyber Monday weekend. Due to the pandemic, we have already seen online, and in-person shopping habits shift dramatically. We recently held a quick Q&A with a few of our directors and managers to inquire what the shopping holidays will look like this year.
Amanda: Aubree, what can we expect to see this year in terms of Black Friday – Cyber Monday?
Aubree: We are seeing retailers start their Black Friday deals earlier than ever before. Some are starting November 1st and running the entire month.
Amanda: Shane, why do you think that the sales will be starting earlier this year?
Shane: The longer Back Friday is being caused by a couple of factors: Ability to fulfill orders in a timely manner (because of issues with shipping providers), the delays that are being caused as a result of COVID-19, including social distancing at warehouses, production lines, and fulfillment centers, and the need to retail to capture on the current environment since the future is unknown.
Amanda: Do you anticipate record-breaking sales?
Shane: Online sales will be up, but advertisers are intentionally reprioritizing Black Friday – Cyber Monday. We may international sales down. The prediction is 1-1.5% growth in sales this year.
Amanda: Sarah, would you say the changes this year are solely because of COVID-19, or have the deal days been getting longer the last year few years?
Sarah: It’s a combination of both. People prefer to online shop and with the pandemic, no one wants to deal with the masses.
Amanda: Amazon pushed back it’s Prime Day from July to October due to COVID. Do you think most of the Amazon shoppers are done with their shopping now since it was so close to the November sales?
Thalia: I don’t think so; it was still pretty early and there will still be deals. I would say that this year’s Prime Day was the unofficial start of the 2020 shopping season.
Shane: To piggy-back on that thought, Prime Day is set up to be a supplemental Black Friday sale, only to drive an additional retail holiday. I think that many people will still look to Black Friday and Cyber Monday for their holiday shopping though retailers are looking to drive sales earlier in the season.
Sarah: I agree with the group. Prime Day won’t take anything away from the Holiday season. Online should be relatively strong.
Amanda: Thalia, do you think there will be more competition since businesses had to transition to online shopping experience due to COVID?
Thalia: If they weren’t advertising online previously, they might not be ‘big’ competition. At this point, a business may not have much leverage with such a short time and turnover. However, I believe it would still affect bidding and they will see an increase, even with the small businesses entering the ring
Amanda: Thanks for your thoughts, team! This will definitely be a memorable holiday shopping season. We will share post-mortem thoughts and stats after the holidays.
Any questions or thoughts on Black Friday? Our team would love to hear from you! Comment or contact us using the form below.
