Black Friday has become a catchphrase for retail bargains. Some brands have stopped limiting their campaigns to just Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, Black Friday has been teased out by all into a daily, month-long affair. And with Black Friday and Cyber Monday just about upon us, advertisers are kicking off the final and main push for the make-or-break holiday marketing season.
Recent history, and AdRoll's "Performance Marketer's Guide to the Holidays 2015" report, tells us that in 2014, "total e-commerce sales on Thanksgiving Day were 25% above 2013’s. Throughout the holiday weekend, consumers continued to rely heavily on online shopping for purchases."
Meanwhile, Merkle|RKG's “2015 Cyber Weekend Search Marketing Preview" shows that the growth of the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday produced 13% of all fourth-quarter sales last year for retailers and represented a whopping 29% of sales from Thanksgiving through Christmas.
The Merkle|RKG preview reveals mobile is expected to account for more than 60% of all paid search traffic on Thanksgiving and will be the main driver of growth during the weekend leading into Cyber Monday. But if you thought all online shopping took place after the turkey was cut, you'd be wrong: 17% of all Cyber Weekend paid searches came from clicks on Thanksgiving Day.
However, new research from from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), surveying over 10,000 consumers, Americans plan to be "tight and frugal" with their spending this holiday season. What's more is that only 43% of consumers said they had plans to go out and shop on Black Friday say they plan to shop on Black Friday, opting to instead do make their gift purchases later in the season. With that in mind, you can expect to see marketers double down on their holiday campaigns, be it via email, on social media or television.
That being said, the Merkle|RKG report showed that, for example, e-commerce marketplace Jet.com's growing mobile Google Product Listing Ads impression share is 59% higher in November so far than it was in September for one advertiser.
One way marketers will take advantage of the bargain-hunting weekend will be through month-long campaigns.
Black Friday casts a long shadow
Smart marketers are taking advantage of the power of Black Friday as a time for bargains.
One prime example is Chevrolet running TV campaigns, such as the "It’s Back" ad that has aired almost 1,000 times promoting it’s month-long Black Friday deals.
The auto brand's dedicated Black Friday website touts the tactic as a way for consumers to, “avoid the chaos, not the deals. We’ve found a way to keep everything you like about Black Friday – the great deals – without everything you don’t like – the chaos, the camping out … all of that.”
Newegg also put together a month-long promotion with particular specials spread throughout November that kicked off "Black November" discounts the second shoppers hung up their Halloween costumes.
Retail marketers switch things up to stand out
Of course some marketers take a different approach to make use of the day as a special event.
Another Retail Dive article pointed out a difference between Black Friday promotions this year as compared to recent seasons: "The concept of Black Friday 'door busting' is a bit of a bust itself this year, with many retailers instead stretching out promotional prices, starting well before Black Friday and keeping prices low well after."
In the case of clothing company Lululemon, the athleisure brand is taking advantage of the name given to the day after Thanksgiving to launch its limited edition all-black collection. Lululemon is launching an all-black, "highly-reflective," as a recent Retail Dive article put it, limited-edition holiday collection for Black Friday, with pieces that include running tights for $298 and ear warmers for $38.
Outdoor and sportswear retailer REI shocked shoppers, and other marketers, when it announced it wouldn't be opening any of its 143 stores on Black Friday this year, which according to Salesforce Social Studio helped it see some 74,000 social media mentions in the weeks after the announcement. REI instead is calling on its consumers to #OptOutside.
“For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors. We believe that being outside makes our lives better. And Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of this essential truth,” President and CEO Jerry Stritzke wrote on the site explaining the move.
Meanwhile, Walmart is planning on staying open all day Thanksgiving, and will kick off its Black Friday deals at 6 p.m. The retailer is also offering nearly all of its Black Friday deals online starting at 12:01 a.m. PT on Thanksgiving.
One thing is clear, if marketers want to grab the attention of their target audiences, they will have to get clever with their holiday messaging, making sure its direct and inviting.