Manassas Park Community Matters Blog: Black Friday – The biggest shopping day of the year! – By Jennifer Deuterman
So, this Friday is the one and only Black Friday of the year. The one day a year where everyone goes crazy shopping for items that are substantially marked down. Black Friday signifies the official start to the Christmas shopping season. It has been this way since 1966. Even though it’s black outside when the holiday begins, that isn’t how it got its name. Instead, the term refers to the period of time where retailers go from being “in the red” (posting a loss) to being “in the black” (turning a profit).
But, how do stores make sure that they grab your attention? Well, one way is going crazy with all of their ads. They want to make sure that you know everything that they have to offer and how great the deals are! It is like more and more stores are even competing for when they are opening to make sure they get a crowd. Honestly, it’s brilliant to have this sale every year. You can probably sell more than you normally do with the items on sale and make twice as much in the process.
When thinking about Black Friday, I wanted to look more into the marketing aspect of it. What DO marketers do to get the word out? Well, sure enough, I found some really neat and interesting statistics about Black Friday Marketing.
- Thanksgiving Day counts. Retailers understand that Thanksgiving Day alone has become a significant shopping day. 46% of those surveyed this fall planned specific Thanksgiving Day promotions to entice customers to get a head start on their holiday shopping.
- Up to 147 million people surveyed plan to shop on Black Friday and that weekend, which is a slight decrease from the 152 million who planned to do so last year. 71 million said they would shop and another 76 million said they would wait and see what retailers have in-store that weekend.
- There are a few ways people prefer to keep track of retailers’ promotions: Half (49.5%) will keep up with advertising circulars throughout the holiday season and three in 10 (30.5%) say they will use television advertisements to stay up-to-date with upcoming sales and events.
- 26.8 percent will follow retailers’ websites, and 31.4 percent will track emails from retailers in order to get the latest holiday announcements.
- It is important for retailers to get the word out early. Almost half of retailers will be getting the word out to customers about Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend specials. 29.7% of retailers will get the word out a week or more before Thanksgiving Day, and another 16.2% will get the word out 5 to six days before Thanksgiving.
- Retailers’ online, mobile and in-store promotions continue to grow each Black Friday. Three in 10 (29.0%) multichannel retailers say they will promote their in-store Black Friday deals with mobile alerts, while only 18.4 percent planned to do so last year.
74.2% of Retailers use email and 54.8% use search marketing to persuade customers to stop by and snatch-up deals. Similarly, retailers use mobile alerts (29% this year vs. 18.4% last year), to engage customers when they’re potentially already on the road or exploring the stores.
Social media is key to promote in-store offers. Many shoppers are likely to do careful research before heading to the mall and stores over Black Friday weekend, many retailers said they will be using social media to promote their in-store specials and events. Facebook is the hands-down medium of choice for retailers looking to promote in-store offers (80.6%), although just half of retailers plan to tap Twitter for similar purposes, and nearly one quarter will use blogs. It is important to give credit to the SEO boost these social networking efforts can provide for their brands.
Those are some interesting statistics. It is amazing to see how things change from year to year, especially with how people reach out to their customers.
The National Retail Federation will release the results of its Black Friday weekend survey by 1:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 27th and will hold a special media briefing at 2 p.m. EST. Information will include what time people started shopping on Black Friday, where they shopped, how much they spent, and what they purchased. I am excited to see the results.
As always, you know that you can stay up to date with the Department of Parks and Recreation’s programs, Community Center hours, events and more on our Facebook Page as well as our website and Twitter.
Plus, it may not be a “Black Friday” deal, but be on the lookout for our Holiday Membership Special. This special will just be for a couple of days and is a great gift for you AND a great stocking stuffer!
I hope that everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Please be aware that the Community Center will be closed tomorrow and open from 10am-8pm on Friday. There will be no Extended Care or Preschool tomorrow or Friday as well and Signal Hill Park will be closed tomorrow.
Jenn
Jennifer Deuterman is the Marketing Manager for the Department of Parks and Recreation. She can be reached at 703.335.8872 x2143 or via email at j.deuterman@manassasparkva.gov
Community Matters is a blog created by the City of Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation. The blog features program updates, announcements of new services, special event notices, or information of general interest.
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