Black Friday sale 2024 is approaching. What used to be a single day dedicated to in-store shopping has now become one of the biggest online shopping events in the world. This is the first shopping weekend of the holiday shopping season and determines the shopping trends during the most active shopping period of the year. Black Friday has over the last decade affected the online shopping habits of consumers, and how businesses conduct their sales and promotions. Individuals are looking forward to knowing what the retailers are bringing next in terms of products and services.

In this blog, we will discuss how Black Friday has influenced the online shopping, the change in consumer behavior and its impact on business and retailers. We will also analyze what it means for e-commerce participants for 2024.

1. Rise of E-Commerce and Online Shopping

The first and perhaps the most conspicuous change that has been brought about by Black Friday is e-commerce. The event was originally an in-store shopping event, but the digitalization of many aspects of the event has taken much of the action online. This change was as a result of consumers’ preferences for easier and quicker methods to access products and e-commerce facilities.

• Convenience and Accessibility: Online shopping is a more suitable option than having to go to physical stores crowded with people and waiting in long queues at the cash register. Consumers can shop without leaving the comfort of their homes, and with today’s mobile shopping, while on the move. Black Friday has been associated with online discounts, with retailers launching it early or continuing through the Cyber Monday and even afterwards.

• E-Commerce Giants Leading the Charge: Amazon is one of the significant platforms that have influenced the Black Friday experience in the online market. They offer fast shipping, exclusive online deals, and a simple design, which has made people’s favorite shopping destination. Other retailers have also taken the same line and come up with their own e-commerce sites

This shift has pushed many retailers to improve their online presence, leading to an increase in mobile-friendly websites, streamlined checkout processes, and more personalized shopping experiences.

2. Extended Shopping Periods and Early Deals

Black Friday no longer stands for the one day sale. Over the recent past, retailers have sought to cover the early morning shoppers in order to maximize their sales.

• Early Black Friday Sales: Due to this kind of competition from other firms, today many retailers start their Black Friday promotions days or even weeks before the actual day. This has resulted in an elongation of the shopping period where people start shopping for gifts as early as November 1st. Walmart and Best Buy are among the stores that have started offering Black Friday deals earlier, through what they call Black Friday Preview.

• Blurring the Line Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday: The once a separate Cyber Monday that was originally associated with Internet promotions of various products has merged with Black Friday. The two events are sometimes indistinguishable from each other as retailers provide similar offers all through the weekend. The blurring of the two has been occasioned by the advancement of e-commerce, where customers who shop during Black Friday conduct their transactions online, making it irrelevant to have a separate day for online discounts

This has shifted the pattern that customers use every festive season in shopping. They are more likely to plan their purchases in advance, search for the best deals and use coupons over a longer period rather than being obsessed with the Black Friday only.

3. Mobile Shopping and the Growth of M-Commerce

As a result of modern technology such as the use of smart phones and other mobile devices, Black Friday has also incorporated mobile commerce, m-commerce. Smartphones are no longer a luxury but a necessity in the shopping process as customers use them to search, compare and buy.

• Mobile-Friendly Websites and Apps: Consumers have spent a lot of money on enhancing their online stores and m-commerce platforms. The mobile-first shopper is key to surviving Black Friday and making sure that the experience is smooth is paramount to any store owner.

• Mobile-Exclusive Deals: Some of the retailers take advantage of the mobile shopping by providing special offers and vouchers that are only available for the mobile users. This strategy sends traffic to mobile devices and also improves customer satisfaction since the customers get to save more when shopping through their mobile devices.

• Increased Mobile Traffic: Looking at the trends that have emerged from the Black Friday of the past years it was evident that mobile devices contributed significantly to the website traffic. Mobile devices accounted for a 69% of the total online traffic on Black Friday in 2022; therefore, mobile optimization should be a priority for retailers during this shopping occasion.

4. Personalization and Targeted Advertising

The next significant shift that came with Black Friday digitization is the increasing popularity of hyper-personalization of the shopping experience. Due to the fact that online shopping has given retailers more information about customers, they can now develop personal offers and advertisements.

• Personalized Recommendations: The use of AI and Machine learning has made it possible for retailers to look at a customer’s history of browsing and past purchases to be able to predict the kind of products that the customer is most likely to purchase. This particular approach makes the customer engagement and the conversion rate better during Black Friday where people are likely to make impulse purchases.

• Targeted Ads: Through digital advertising, the business has been able to develop complex ways of advertising through the targeting of consumers’ behavior and interests. In Black Friday, advertising is very crucial because the ads should reach the right consumer at the right time. This way, retailers are able to develop ads that are relevant to the customers’ needs, which can increase their chances of getting the message across and thus have more sales.

This has caused brand differentiation as well as enhanced customer loyalty since customers are able to be treated individually by the retailers in the highly competitive Black Friday market.

5. Shift Toward Sustainable and Conscious Shopping

With the increased awareness of environmental and ethical concerns of the products that people buy, the culture of sustainable and conscious consumption has emerged, including during Black Friday.

• Sustainability Efforts by Retailers: Several retail stores are using environmental friendly products or marketing their environmental friendly campaigns during black Friday. Some brands also engage in ‘Black Friday’ or ‘Cyber Monday’ or ‘Green Friday’ or ‘Buy Nothing Day’ to encourage people to shop less. This change is due to the altering consumer values where customer now care about the environment and are not as eager to consume as before.

• Ethical Shopping Choices: Etsy and other Black Friday online shops, as well as small shops that sell products made by independent artisans or that focus on fair trade products have also experienced an increase in sales. Consumers are also more conscious of what they need and are willing to wait for the best deals that are in harmony with their principles such as ‘buy local’, ‘fair trade’, and ‘go green’.

This shift is not unique to Amazon but part of a larger trend in the online retail landscape where customer’s are looking for more than just a good price in a brand.

6. Impact on Small Businesses

Although Black Friday is usually associated with big brands, the SMEs are now using the internet to fight for their piece of the action. New technology in e-commerce and social media have also assisted small businesses to expand their market and provide better offers.

• E-Commerce Empowering Small Retailers: Small businesses are capable of creating their online stores through platforms such as Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon to engage in Black Friday without the physical hub. These platforms offer small retailers with the necessary tools to order stocks, give discounts and process payments in a secure manner to ensure that they can offer their brands to customers despite the fact that they are small in comparison to the official brands.

• Niche Markets and Unique Offerings: Small business success often comes from targeting specific niches and selling products that are either made individually, artisanally, or to the customer’s specification. Small retailers use quality and uniqueness of the products during Black Friday in order to compete with the large number of similar products sold by other retailers.

• Supporting Local Businesses: Another trend that has been observed during Black Friday is that consumers are actually choosing to shop from local and independent sellers. Such campaigns as the “Small Business Saturday” appeal to consumers to spend their money locally with an emphasis on the fact that small businesses also play their role in the overall retail market.

Conclusion

The fact that Black Friday influences the tendencies of online shopping is disputable. From the emergence of e-commerce and mobile Black Friday shopping to the emphasis on personalization, environmental concerns, and local stores, Black Friday has transformed the consumer and the ways retailers interact with consumers. Since the Black Friday has been witnessed to be shifting its nature gradually as a result of online shopping, the trends that have been witnessed will continue to dictate the retail strategies in future and therefore, businesses need to embrace the changing digital environment.

The increase in online shopping during Black Friday is therefore not unique to the event but it is also an indicator of change in consumer behavior towards embracing convenient, personalized and sustainable shopping. The trends explained above are therefore important for retailers to appreciate and incorporate in their operations in order to overcome competition.