Editor’s note: The origins of Black Friday are obscure, and the pandemic and a surge of supply chain issues plaguing businesses small and large mean this year’s Black Friday will be extraordinary. Kristin McGrath of BlackFriday.com was kind enough to answer some of our questions.
AP: We are interested in a brief evolution of Black Friday. It used to be that… enthusiastic people would head out in the wee hours of the morning to camp out at stores (Best Buy and other electronics places come to mind, in particular) in order to get that one gem of a deal.
KM: Black Friday is a long “day.” Traditionally, many retailers would open up the afternoon of Thanksgiving to hordes of people waiting anxiously outside the windows. However, post-pandemic, a trend of staying closed on Thanksgiving and opening early on Friday continues to grow.
Now, more and more consumers are choosing to shop online, not wanting to wait outside in the early morning chill with a crush of other holiday shoppers or battle over the last most-wanted item. This was happening years before, but the pandemic pushed shoppers online more than ever in 2020. The preference for online shipping was amplified in 2020, and it became the dominant mode of shopping that season. COVID-19 all but put an end to in-store shopping on Thanksgiving Day (as most retailers opted to remain closed for the first time in a decade).
AP: What’s Black Friday expected to be like this year? Is it more of an online experience where people start looking for deals in October? Or is it spread out with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday?
KM: This year, retailers again stretched out Black Friday. Even before the pandemic, Black Friday was becoming more of a week than a day, with retailers kicking off their online Black Friday deals a few days to a week before Black Friday itself. However, this year (like last year), we saw Black Friday-worthy deals drop as early as October from retailers.
According to a recent survey conducted by BlackFriday.com, in-store shopping will make a comeback in 2021, with 77% of respondents ready to go the retail route if the store is open and/or the deal is not available online.
AP: How did the pandemic impact Black Friday? Are retailers expecting more online shopping or less, due to the supply chain issues plaguing so many?
KM: It might seem like these issues are unique to big companies. But, as with so many things in life, these supply chain issues also trickle down to the consumer. As these big retail brands scramble to find other manufacturing solutions, it adds to their costs and creates a delay. The result is fewer products for consumers to purchase, and higher prices on the products that are available. This becomes an even bigger problem during the holidays when there is already such a high demand for different retail products.
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These supply chain issues will affect shopping of all sorts. However, in addition to shopping early to get those holiday gifts, here are some other tips that can help ensure you have a merry and bright holiday season:
Shop at more than one store: Because there will be product shortages during the holidays, we recommend checking out multiple retailers and store locations to find the items on your list. If one location is out, it doesn’t mean that every location is.
MORE: Small Business Saturday encourages local shopping
Be creative with gift-giving this year: Many smaller retailers and sellers on websites like Etsy are also feeling the pinch right now due to COVID-related issues and marketplace competition. That means you may be able to find some great deals on amazing gifts from sources like these.
Turn to BlackFriday.com for help: The BlackFriday.com team is here to sort through all the Black Friday ad scans and holiday deal announcements to help you find the best bargains. We also work hard to provide up-to-date information about product restocks at different retailers, so keep checking back with us often.
AP: Black Friday was once considered the busiest retail shopping day of the year. Is it any longer?
KM: Black Friday and Cyber Monday set online shopping records last year and 2021 doesn’t show any signs of slowing that down. More than half (52% )of BlackFriday.com’s recent survey respondents indicated that they are very or somewhat likely to shop Black Friday sales events either in-store or online this year. Meanwhile, online shopping on Cyber Monday is expected to rise from 59% in 2020 to 61% in 2021.
AP: Thanks to Kristin McGrath of BlackFriday.com for her insightful answers to our questions. Best of luck out there and happy hunting. Remember: Small Business Saturday takes place on Saturday, Nov. 27, and read more about it here.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
