Black Friday is an event that takes place all over the world and which allows consumers to benefit from promotions in the biggest brands. The event appeared for the first time in the United States in 1950 even if the date is not really known. Historically, Black Friday is a physical event that allows stores to attract many customers throughout the day. In recent years and with the increasing weight of e-commerce, the event also gives pride of place to pure players.
Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Across the Atlantic, the brands that generate the most revenue during this holiday are Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. In France, Black Friday appeared in 2013 and has seduced French consumers. There are also other key times of the year when online shoppers can pick up bargains.
Focus on this extraordinary e-commerce event as well as other e-commerce highlights.
Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy: the big winners every Black Friday
The most popular retailers during Black Friday are: Walmart, Best Buy. They mostly have a large number of physical points of sale and can afford to carry out major advertising campaigns.
Walmart operates 11,000 stores worldwide, including 5,000 in the United States, and Best Buy has nearly 1,000 stores worldwide. They also offer thousands of references and are the ones with the biggest discounts.
Black Friday is also a challenge from a logistical point of view. For marketplaces like Amazon, Cdiscount or Fnac-Darty, this represents several million parcel shipments in a very short period of time.
Black Friday: an important period for all e-merchants
The September period is very often pivotal for e-merchants because it forces them to prepare simultaneously for the two high points of the end of the year: Black Friday and the Christmas holidays.
This is the perfect time to implement an effective communication / marketing strategy to capture new customers while retaining existing customers.
Proof that e-commerce has become an essential channel during these two periods, 70% of online shoppers indicated that they wanted to participate in Black Friday on the Internet and 81% of online shoppers have already had a Christmas shopping experience on the Internet. ( Source: Fevad )
Consumers in the starting blocks
Consumers are more and more prepared for Black Friday and some get information well in advance of the event by going to merchant sites. Now, shoppers put the items they want in their cart and return to the website on Black Friday to choose the ones with the best discounts.
With the inflationary context that we are currently experiencing, the French will certainly be even more numerous to take advantage of Black Friday to anticipate their Christmas gifts. This was already the case in 2018 for more than 1 in 3 French people (36%) who said they plan to buy gifts during promotional periods such as Black Friday (+1 point). Moreover, the Internet has allowed the French to optimize their budget. Still in 2018, 29% said they bought their gifts for private sale on the Internet and 26% ( Source ) found promo codes on the Internet or social networks.
Other e-commerce parties
There are also other e-commerce highlights that generate significant revenue for brands. These parties mostly take place online.
Cyber Monday
More recent than Black Friday, Cyber Monday appeared in 2005. It is the Monday following the Black Friday event. For pure players, this is an opportunity to offer significant discounts, especially on multimedia. As its name suggests, Cyber Monday takes place exclusively on the Internet.
In 2022, Cyber Monday generated $11.3 billion ( Source ) in online revenue. At the height of the day, Internet users were spending $12.8 million per minute!
Singles Day
In China every November 11 is a special moment for hundreds of millions of consumers with Singles' Day. The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba created it in 2009 to celebrate single people.
Very quickly, this party became the largest online shopping event in the world, surpassing the revenues generated by Black Friday in the United States. Retailers offer deep discounts on a wide range of products, including clothing, electronics, household items, and even beauty products. In 2021, Singles' Day generated $ 84 billion ( Source ) in revenue, compared to $14 billion for Amazon on Black Friday the same year.
The French Days
In France, several brands joined forces in 2018 to create their own e-commerce event: the French Days. For five days, the Fnac-Darty, Boulanger, Cdiscount, La Redoute, Rue du Commerce and Showroomprivé brands are offering consumers significant discounts on a wide range of online products.
This event is seen by the French as an alternative to traditional sales since it is concentrated exclusively online. It usually takes place between April/May and between September/October each year.
Every year Black Friday is a major global event for e-merchants. Signs compete in ingenuity to attract ever more customers, whether in store or online.
At Pikka, we recommend that our customers anticipate this period well and activate the communication and marketing levers at the right time to make this event a total success.
There are also other e-commerce highlights that are an opportunity to offer significant discounts to consumers. This is the case during Christmas or chestnut celebrations (Valentine's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, etc.). To anticipate all these parties, Pikka can accompany you. Contact us today!
