Are you familiar with “holidays” like Black Friday, Black Thursday and Cyber Monday?
Black Thursday
As a term, Black Thursday is somewhat newer than Black Friday, whose beginnings can be traced back to 1961. On Black Friday, retailers kept moving their opening hours earlier and earlier: first 6:00 in the morning, then 5:00, then four, and finally midnight. As a result, opening times drifted onto Thursday, Thanksgiving Day itself.
In 2009 Kmart opened its doors already at 7:00 on Thursday morning, arguing that an early shopping trip helps shoppers avoid the Black Friday traffic chaos and get home in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Over the next couple of years many retailers followed Kmart’s example and opened on Thanksgiving evening at 19:00 or 20:00. This shopping frenzy was mockingly nicknamed “Black Thursday”.
Seeing that the system worked, more and more retailers followed suit over the years. Many keep their shops open through the whole of Thanksgiving until late. It is worth noting that for the employees the workday starts in the very early hours. One of Black Thursday’s original goals was also to push back against ever-growing online sales; today the situation is rather the opposite, and online sales are used to amplify in-store sales.
For example, Estonia’s biggest online shops, such as Kaubamaja’s e-shop and e-Selver, reported record sales volumes during Black Friday in 2022.
Black Thursday: what does it actually mean?
Historically, the term “Black Thursday” has a completely different meaning: it describes the sudden fall in share prices on the New York Stock Exchange on 24 October 1929. It marked the beginning of the global economic crisis, which in turn pushed democracies towards collapse and accelerated the rise of dictatorships around the world. That original meaning is deeply negative, and the commercial Black Thursday is not much more positive. While the discounts have been rather beneficial for shoppers, the effect on employees has been the opposite: over the years there have been many complaints from workers forced to leave their family Thanksgiving dinner early to go to work, or to skip the celebration altogether.
Various media outlets and retailers have used the terms “Grey Thursday” or “Brown Thursday” instead. Compared with Black Friday, Black Thursday’s profits have been modest. In 2014, for example, overall Black Thursday sales flopped, and in response many retailers returned to more traditional methods and closed their shops on Thursday.
Black Friday
Black Friday is a movable date that follows Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Thanksgiving is also a movable holiday, traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Unlike Thanksgiving, Black Friday is not an official holiday, but since 1952 it has been considered the day the country’s Christmas shopping season begins.
Black Friday is no longer just an American phenomenon. In Europe, including Estonia, its popularity has exploded in recent years. More and more Estonian online shops join the campaigns, offering clients significant discounts on everything from electronics to clothing. In 2022 several records were seen in Estonia, with online shops reporting their biggest sales days of the year during Black Friday. This growth shows that Estonian consumers have fully embraced Black Friday and treat it as the most important shopping day of the year.
Black Friday is characterised by retailers opening very early, in recent years even during the night, and offering shoppers all kinds of special deals and discounts.
The earliest evidence of the term “Black Friday” being used in a shopping context, describing the day after Thanksgiving, comes from Philadelphia, where it described the extremely dense and confusing pedestrian and vehicle traffic. In that context the term can be traced back to 1961. At first it was used in a rather negative sense, because the heavy traffic caused many accidents.
As the years passed, the name grew more popular and took on a commercial meaning. In retail, losses are marked in red and profits in black, and Black Friday’s total profits reach into the billions. In 2015, for instance, the revenue of the whole Black Friday weekend was 50.9 billion dollars. Although that was 11% less than the year before, the number is still impressive.
Black Friday: when do the doors open?
To offer shoppers the best deals, shops have extended their usual opening hours. At first retailers opened at 6:00 in the morning; over the years it moved to 5:00 and even 4:00. In 2011 the trend reached a new point when big chains like Target, Macy’s and Kohl’s opened at midnight for the first time. Inspired by this, Walmart announced in 2012 that it would open at eight in the evening on Thanksgiving Day itself (Black Thursday). Among employees the decision was met with a backlash: strikes broke out and workers quit.
Black Friday has for years been the day when many retailers offer unprecedented discounts, and both footfall and profits have grown year after year. As the day marks the start of the Christmas season, many people use the deals to buy Christmas presents. Historically the deals lasted the whole Thanksgiving weekend, but in recent years that system has lost popularity.
Since many shops open on Thanksgiving Day or the night before Black Friday, it is a common sight in America to see people queueing for hours before opening, hoping to be first at the goods. The aim is to grab the best products at the lowest price, which is also why accidents from pushing and shoving are common. For many, Black Friday is the most important shopping day of the year, and some save money for it all year long.
Today a large share of Black Friday sales happens online, offering shoppers convenience and quick transactions. In Estonia, too, many consumers prefer shopping online over going to the store. According to the Estonian E-commerce Association, Black Friday 2023 was one of the biggest days for online sales, with home electronics, clothing and household goods bought the most. The advantage of online campaigns is that they let companies reach a wider audience and offer personalised discounts.
Black Friday: are you ready for it?
Although Black Friday in its current form is most popular in the United States, many other countries have followed the example and set up similar days, though hardly anywhere does it reach the same level of “madness” as in the US: since 2006, nine deaths and 98 injuries have been reported in connection with Black Friday. And Black Friday is demanding not only for the shopper but for the business owner as well: everyone hopes for the best revenue and is ready to offer fantastic discounts to attract clients. It is important that every business owner is prepared for Black Friday both physically and mentally.
Cyber Monday: what is that?
Cyber Monday is the Monday following Thanksgiving. The term was created to steer people towards shopping online more, hence the word “cyber”. It was coined in 2005 by Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman, so it is not a very old tradition. Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday moves each year.
Cyber Monday is comparable to Black Friday, with the difference that its deals, discounts and promo codes live mostly online. The growth of the internet seems unstoppable, so it is understandable that many prefer to shop comfortably from home or the office instead of queueing for hours. Connections are fast and shopping takes remarkably little time.
Cyber Monday: what is it good for?
Compared with Black Friday, Cyber Monday is popular among smaller businesses, precisely those who could not compete with the big retail chains on Black Friday. The type of goods sold also differs: on Black Friday you can find technology at very low prices, while Cyber Monday offers less of it; the same goes for kitchen appliances. Cyber Monday focuses mainly on clothes, shoes and accessories. Recent Cyber Mondays have shown clothing sales roughly 45% higher than on Black Friday.
Cyber Monday revenue passed the one-billion mark for the first time in 2010 and has grown every year since. The two-billion mark fell in 2014 and three billion already in 2016, when Cyber Monday’s 3.45 billion dollars beat Black Friday’s 3.34 billion. The rapid growth is no surprise: using the internet has become so ordinary, and so has getting things done online.
Even everyday grocery trips are increasingly replaced by online orders, which shows that online shopping is the fastest and most convenient way. So it is no surprise that on a day when shoppers are lured with discounts, the number of buyers is huge. Great popularity also means websites can crash and other problems can occur, so cyber shopping is not entirely trouble-free.
First and foremost, Cyber Monday is for online shopping, though many of the online deals are available in physical shops as well. To prepare shoppers for the Monday, retailers announce their discounts online well in advance. Cyber Monday started in the United States but has gained so much popularity over the years that other countries have created their own versions.
Do you plan to profit from the Black Friday sales too?
With the rapid growth of internet use, many companies run their Black Friday offers differently, and you do not even have to get out of bed in the morning: the online shop’s doors are open while the staff of physical stores are still drinking their morning coffee.
Over the past five years the popularity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has grown steadily both in Estonia and internationally. Since 2018 the sales volumes of these days have grown 10–20% each year. In 2021 global Black Friday sales exceeded 9 billion dollars, and in Estonia online sales during Black Friday week grew 25% year on year. Cyber Monday has also shown remarkable growth, especially in the technology sector, where the deals attracted millions of clients.
Companies can make the most of Cyber Monday with special offers and targeted campaigns in their online shops, for example using client segmentation to offer loyal clients exclusive discounts. If you cannot manage it all alone, virtual assistants can be invaluable during both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, handling campaign planning, discount codes, client communication and order management. That frees you from the daily tasks and lets you focus on strategic decisions.
Although every Black Friday is different, recent trends show that consumers increasingly look for personalised offers and value-based purchases, and appreciate fast, convenient delivery and environmentally friendly choices. Estonian online shops have started stretching Black Friday across a whole week, adding free shipping and special client programmes on top of the discounts. The trend is likely to continue and become the norm. Companies should think early about how to make their campaigns unique and stand out from the competition.
Recommendations before your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns
If you want to get the most out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here are a few recommendations:
1. Plan early: start planning and advertising the campaigns at least a month before the event, so consumers know what to expect. Use social media, for example, to prime your clients for the offers.
2. Make your website fast and secure: check that the site can handle higher traffic and the payment systems work flawlessly.
3. Use personalised offers: send loyal clients emails with special discount codes.
4. Offer exclusive extras: free shipping, bonus gifts or a longer return period can increase the number of purchases.
5. Involve your team and/or virtual assistants: delegate the tasks so the campaigns run smoothly. Virtual assistants can, for example, automate the email sending and monitor the offers.
Have you already prepared the same opportunity for your clients?
If not, we can come to the rescue, because the clock is ticking… tick-tock… tick-tock… Black Friday is almost here! Now is the last moment to start the preparations, so that your clients buy from you, not from your competitors, and the sales day passes without a hitch!
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