50 Days Until Black Friday. Are You Ready?

Dun, dun, dun...

Try not to let the ominous music in the background frighten you. No, it's not Jaws creeping up, just Mariah Carey getting increasingly louder in the background as November approaches.

With what could be a challenging holiday season, retailers and brands are in prep-mode across the nation for what's now been coined as the "Cyber Five," or the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. Here's a look at what's anticipated to come.

What's at stake this Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend? $40+ billion.

That is according to Adobe 's 2024 Holiday Forecast , which also holds steady that the Cyber Five will remain the season AND year's biggest shopping day. This year, it might be even higher than originally projected, though we still aren't seeing those pre-pandemic percentage rises.

Some expert analysts including EMARKETER 's Zak Stambor expect the Cyber Five to account for a 15.5% of total holiday eCommerce sales this year (eMarketer ). That paired with wages up, inflation down, and the US Federal Reserve's Interest rate cut , could make for happy shoppers.

However, there could be challenges. Jason Goldberg , Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis Groupe and host of Jason and Scot Show noted that "the 2024 holiday calendar has the fewest shopping days we get in the holiday cycle, and a major disruption in the US Presidential election. Combine that with a consumer credit card debt creeping up, consumers spending less on non-essentials, and being less willing to pay a premium for brands, and it gives us a holiday season where a few retailers at the top of the ecosystem like Amazon and Walmart are poised to have a good year, and many other retailers will struggle, especially on profit margins."

So, where do retailers go from here?

45% of shoppers plan to make an in-store purchase this holiday season.

An experiential retail experience still matters to the modern day customer! According to 普华永道 's Holiday Outlook 2024, one-fifth of consumers rank holiday displays and store atmosphere (22%), holiday-specific products (21%) and making an event out of the shopping trip (17%) as the top three factors influencing their decision to visit physical stores during the holiday season.

“Brick-and-mortar is definitely back," said Matt Ezyk , Global Retail Leader with RETHINK Retail and former Director of eCommerce at PetSuperMarket , "however, it’s not a return to the old model—shoppers now expect a tech-enhanced in-store experience, such as real-time inventory visibility and seamless mobile checkouts.”

A great example of how it varies from generation to generation is with Gen Z and millennials leaning towards mobile app purchasing, while older generations are still leaning towards an in-store experience.

Gen Z and Holiday Spending...

Social media is playing a MAJOR role in influencing Gen Z consumers this holiday season . A whopping 40% surveyed valued celebrity and influencer endorsements throughout their purchasing journey.

Greg Kihlstrom , retail expert and host of The Agile Brand? with Greg Kihlstr?m , weighed in, "The dominance of social commerce with Gen-Z in particular is important for brands to understand, with over 1/3 of Gen Z shoppers planning to use?TikTok Shop for holiday shopping."

So call up Alix Earle, because with Gen Z spending power is on the rise, and social commerce being their preferred platform, it's going to be exciting to see what brands do on social this holiday season.

Personalization is still going to be key in relating to customers. "They want to see products related to other items they may have purchased or might like to purchase based on their engagement with the brand," said Lauren Livak Gilbert , Executive Director of The Digital Shelf Institute .

"Specifically, 53%?of GenZ shoppers buy more often due to personalized product recommendations. But an important factor in getting that right is also delivering a consistent brand experience across every touchpoint the consumer interacts with your brand on."

Here's to a fruitful and successful holiday season, eTailers!

eTail Unplugged Episode 1 Out Now:

In the first episode of eTail Unplugged , we sit down with Jeremiah Curvers , CEO and Co-Founder of Polysleep , to explore the brand’s transformation from a DTC mattress-in-a-box company to a leader in sleep wellness innovation. Curvers shares how Polysleep has adapted to post-pandemic changes in talent acquisition and shifting consumer behavior. Discover the brand’s storytelling strategies that forge deep customer connections and inspire loyalty.

Listen to the episode on Spotify!

Check out our upcoming events and coverage:

eTail Palm Springs, February 24-27, 2025, Palm Springs, CA

Commerce Media Brand Summit, March 10-11, 2025, Atlanta, GA