Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: It’s a war out there. But, who’s winning?
It turns out that brick-and-mortar companies and eCommerce companies are both moving in similar directions, even though they’ve bee historically at odds. Here’s everything you need to know about Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and more.
Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Winner is Mobile
Even for brick-and-mortar retailers, mobile orders increased significantly this year — by 35%. Retailers are making it easier for people to order online, with Walmart and Target both engaging in delivery services, and other retailers tying their online storefronts into their offline merchandise. Customers were able to browse deals and make purchases in the comfort of their own home and pick it up at their leisure.
There’s a huge advantage to this for the retailers, too: they don’t need to worry about stampedes of people in their store. Most retailers saw fewer people actually camping out for Black Friday, which is a bit of a mixed bag. It cuts down on impulse purchases, but it also reduces overhead. This means retailers will be able to cut back on staff for their holiday deals.
Retailers are slowly getting used to the art of marketing online, which includes connecting with customers more effectively through apps, driving online engagement, and re-marketing to customers who have either purchased before or who have abandoned their purchases.
But what about the stores online? There’s now some significant crossover between online stores and brick-and-mortar stores, and that’s changing the face of weekend deals.
Cyber Monday on Track to Hit $9.4 Billion
Cyber Monday is believed to hit $9.4 billion this year. As an answer to “Black Friday,” Cyber Monday is the time when all online companies do their deals. But it’s bled over to Black Friday somewhat, and many stores run deals the entire weekend.
But compare that to Black Friday, which had record sales of only $7.2 billion. It’s easy to understand why. Cyber Monday is international. Black Friday is something that only happens in the United States. And many companies are now participating in both, which dilutes sales across the entirety of the weekend.
People want to purchase goods online, and they want to get deals. But in recent years, they’ve also become more savvy, and have started looking things up online before purchasing them in real life. Because of that, people are more likely to find deals online when they’re looking to buy something, as long as they’re willing to be patient.
Still, the future of Black Friday looks good — purchasing is increasing, even though the “door busting” deals are mostly going away. Rather than being a crowd-trampling in-person event, it’s transitioning into a time when people can get generally good deals.
Moving to eCommerce is Saving Retail Stores
It wasn’t too long ago when companies such as Sears and K-Mart were starting to shutter their doors in the wake of increased online purchasing. But what the survivors are learning is that people want both: they want online purchasing and the ability to look at things online. This is why Best Buy still exists, and is often jokingly referenced as “Amazon’s showroom.”
If companies are able to successfully transition to eCommerce, they’re going to be able to fare well. But that does mean that there may be issues for retailers that aren’t able to successfully transition to online eCommerce. Some companies have not been able to do so successfully, such as Kohl’s. Kohl’s created a particularly robust online platform, but it still wasn’t enough to maintain its physical infrastructure.
As brick-and-mortar retailers have started offering online purchasing, they’ve become more stable. Companies that are expanding into the eCommerce space are able to get the best of both worlds, and to offer the best of both worlds to their customers.
What is clear is that retail and consumer spending has not slowed. Consumers are spending more than ever, and that could be either good, or worrying for the economy. Consumers are picking up additional debt, which can eventually lead to economic instability.
