Why Black Friday could be a digital-only event this year

As Walmart and Target lead the retail sector on plans to close their stores for Thanksgiving Day this year, this creates a remarkable opportunity for Black Friday to be re-made as a digital-only event.

1. No crowds in-store

Black Friday is one of retail’s busiest days. This year, retailers will not want crowded stores especially as social distancing measures are still likely to be in place in November. Over the last few months, efforts have been focused on limiting the number of customers in-store. Retailers will not suddenly change direction on this, preferring that any deal-chasing happens online.

2. Relaunch the event with new excitement

Moving Black Friday to a solely digital event provides retailers with the opportunity to add new energy to the event. Many learnings can be taken from Asia where digital retailers such as Alibaba, Shopee and Flipkart have optimised Singles Day, Online Shopping Day and Big Billion Days. 'Livestream Shopping' is a new opportunity in the US that should also be factored in. For many retailers it could also be a strong counter-point to Amazon’s Prime Day, which continues to grow each year, although Amazon is also a key destination on Black Friday.

3. Accelerate an existing trend

Over the last few years, a significant proportion of Black Friday sales has shifted online. This has been to meet the consumer demand for online shopping, moderate traffic in-store and ensure all customers can access key promotions. Several retailers have also been able to blend their capabilities to offer an omnichannel solution, enabling customers to opt for online delivery when faced with out-of-stocks in-store for high demand items. For many consumers, Black Friday is already a key online shopping day.

4. Face into supply chain challenges

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting Asia earlier in the year, with factories closed in several key countries, there may be some supply constraints this year for non-food items. By pivoting away from the traditional Black Friday approach, retailers could offer more deals across more products on different weekends, rather than focusing their efforts on a limited supply of key products in a condensed period of time.

5. Optimise retailers’ ecommerce investments

For most retailers, ecommerce profitability is a scale issue; the faster they can build scale, the sooner they will move into profitability. By shifting Black Friday online, they will build on the progress made this year in growing their operations and better optimise their investments to build capacity. However, for many operators, a major online sales event will stress their capabilities despite the investments made this year.

6. Follow the consumer

The growth in ecommerce, across grocery and non-food, has been one of the defining elements of COVID-19. Many consumers have engaged with the channel for the first time and retailers have adjusted their efforts to retain them. In the most part, the experience has been positive, and many have made online shopping a key part of their routine. Even without a dedicated move to an online-only event this year, the proportion of Black Friday digital sales will increase significantly versus 2019. Going digital-only will enable retailers to focus their efforts in this area.

7. Being prepared for the second wave

The path of the virus is unpredictable. However, the rising number of cases in the US, along with the potential for a second wave suggests that retailers should be adopting a cautious approach to promotional events later in the year. Making the decision now provides clarity to consumers and suppliers and is likely to generate support from additional retailers who will be looking for the sales bounce of the holiday season, without compromising associate and customer safety. 

How do you think Black Friday could evolve this year? What should retailers consider as they adopt a new approach to large-scale shopping events?

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