It’s Already A Black Winter!

It’s Black Friday, and I’m writing from the safety of my home.

Black Friday’s become synonymous with Thanksgiving. The term describes hordes of shoppers who descended on 1950s Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving. Taking advantage of increased traffic, city leaders promoted big sales and decorations ahead of that Saturday’s Army/Navy football game.

With the trend now virtually everywhere, I’m assuming the stores are all insane. I have enough pressure in my life, and shopping doesn’t make me feel merry.

So why must I voluntarily subject myself to that stress?

Many of my friends avoid Black Friday sales. Some stay home, watching movies and eating leftovers. Others meditate to alleviate holiday anxiety. Many do all their shopping online.

Interestingly, online sales started growing significantly in mid-September. Anyone paying attention is asking why Black Friday’s gone from one day to the entire last third of 2022.

Shoppers are being cautious this year due to economic concerns. Many retailers are faced with record stockpiles of inventory, much caused by consumer shopping trends changing as the pandemic receded.

Some merchants initiated holiday sales earlier to enable consumers to pay for more merchandise over time. Not wanting to be left out, major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart also began running early fall holiday savings.

Consumers will inevitably feel relieved of the “need” to get the best prices on “Black Friday.” Seeing lower prices were available for months, they’ll start demanding lower prices always.

That, in turn, should force retailers to focus even more on better service. And THERE’s your opportunity.

Because studies show customers increasingly want more human interaction as part of their buying process. Meaning whatever you sell, if you’re consistent with your prices and increase your customer service, you should be able to ride this wave and grow your sales year-round.

Of course, you’ll want to promote your year-round low prices and increase awareness of your human touch. And you’ll want to have other tricks up your sleeve as your competition realizes relying on Black Friday is an outdated way of boosting sales.

However, taking advantage of these trends should help you celebrate Thanksgiving all year long. And your customers, who no longer need to awaken at 4AM to go shopping, will appreciate the respect you’ve given their time.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

----
Get more good marketing ideas at www.marketbuilding.com.