How 4 Brands are Ditching Black Friday for #GiveBackFriday

Known as the biggest day in the retail calendar, Black Friday is typically associated with big bargains, huge sales, and time-ticking discounts. But with the ever-looming cost of living crisis, and talks of a possible recession on the horizon, a growing number of brands are ditching the annual shopper frenzy, and instead using the day to take a stand, make a difference, and truly connect with their customers.

In?a report?commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by American market research company, Harris Poll, it was revealed that shoppers are thinking about their favourite brands in brand new ways. Even though pricing still comes out on top in the buyer consideration process, shoppers are now paying close attention to the values of consumer goods brands, and their efforts to support a sustainable future. In fact, a whopping 82% of consumers are prepared to take their business elsewhere if a brand’s values fail to align with their own.

Here are 4 brands taking a stand by veering away from traditional Black Friday trends in 2022:

Google

A pioneer in the tech industry, 2022 marks Google’s second year of branching away from convention by instead opting for a meaningful Black Friday campaign. For the past two years, Google has celebrated #BlackOwnedFriday by using its influential platform to highlight and support black-owned businesses. As part of their campaign, Google has launched a special?web page?and a?video?to champion the cause and spread the word.

Everlane

In 2014, clothing company, Everlane, announced the creation of the?Everlane Black Friday Fund?to give back to their community and customers. Since the fund’s launch, Everlane has raised over 1.3 million dollars to champion projects that improve the lives of their factory workers, and help clean up the environment. This Black Friday, the fund is back once again, and Everlane is making a donation with every purchase.?

IKEA

Ever thinking out of the box, IKEA’s Black Friday campaign involves the company itself buying from customers instead of the other way around. Known as #BuyBackFriday, IKEA?launched the campaign?to encourage customers to sell their used and unwanted furniture back to the store instead of throwing them away. The famous furniture company is using #BuyBackFriday to highlight its larger, long-term sustainability goals and get customers involved in the movement.

Freitag

Recycled bag maker, Freitag, is known to protest Black Friday tradition by?closing the ‘virtual’ doors?of its online store and redirecting customers to its S.W.A.P exchange platform instead. The retailer encourages customers to change Black Friday from a?shopping?day, to a?swapping?day, and takes pride in being 100% discount free. For customers wanting to swap bags face-to-face, Freitag even hosts an in person swapping event in many of its physical stores.

How can you get involved in #GiveBackFriday?

As we know, Black Friday is the official day of shopping. It might sound counterintuitive, but you can actually give back to your local community by doing exactly that. Support local charity shops, locally owned small businesses, and quite literally give back by donating purchases like toys, clothes or food supplies to children’s charities, homeless shelters and food banks that desperately need it.

At Beacon, we’re proud supporters of the First Days Children’s Charity, a Wokingham-based charity that aims to give choice, restore dignity and empower local families who are living with a low income or are experiencing financial hardship.?

This year, the charity is determined to give children and their families a Christmas to remember. With support from various other local charities, First Hands is running a community Christmas campaign that allows families in need to choose gifts for their children and pick items for a food hamper.?

Have a look at their?A Christmas Presence?campaign, and find out more about how you can contribute?here.

Black Friday doesn’t have to be all about steep discounts and unhinged shopping frenzies. While there’s certainly no shame in buying that one item that’s been stashed in your wishlist for ages, there’s really never been a better time to lend a helping hand than now.?