Are reports of the mega-sales-event’s death exaggerated? We asked leading marketers.
Public opinion on Black Friday has a chequered history. Back in 2020, one US news outlet called it “one of our country’s darkest days” before recounting a miserable list of shootings, tramplings, and other fateful incidents in the day’s history.
Since then, and hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic, more focus has been given to the physical event’s e-commerce cousin – where there’s less possibility of physical injury, but reputational challenges have continued. First the day spread to its official digital partner, Cyber Monday, then the levee broke: offers crept earlier and earlier, reports emerged that many retailers were not actually offering deals in real terms, a vocal minority of brands made a splash with ‘anti-Black-Friday’ campaigns, and people started talking about ‘Black Friday Month’ and the wider ‘Golden Quarter’ from October to December.
We’re at an interesting juncture for capitalism’s newest holiday, in other words – one where …