Stuff ourselves with stuffing and turkey, give thanks for all we have and the next day head out to meet the Black Friday sales! Yes, that's exactly the kind of schedule that awaits the vast majority of Americans these days. The discount massage that lurks for us in the online and offline world is noticeable almost all through November. The last few days are very intense, and we couldn't leave this discount holiday of the year out of our Bystander. We take a look at how this day came about, what the polls say about it, and of course, we have something to entertain you.
Make yourself a good coffee or tea to warm up and find a few minutes for the next part of our newsletter. We promise we won't offer any discount promotions.
How did it all come about?
Black Friday always comes the day after Thanksgiving, which is usually the fourth Friday in November. The term was reportedly first used in 1869, when the stock market crashed. But it was probably shaped into its current discount form in 1929, when the stock market crashed again and desperate traders began offering their goods at a fraction of the price. From about the 1960s onwards, the term was carried over into the world of pre-Christmas shopping and by 1985 it was in widespread use in the United States. In the Czech Republic, Black Friday has an untraceable history, but various sources say that Alza first came up with the promotion in the Czech market, and the green Martian became a bit more annoying.
There is no discount like a discount
As it turns out, for example in Which?'s research, only one in seven Black Friday deals offers a real discount. The survey analysed seven major US home products and technology retailers to see how prices are changing. They tracked the amounts over the six months before and six months after Black Friday and found that the vast majority of products could be found cheaper (86%) or at the same price (98%) during this period. Also, now you're wondering how many times you could have caught a discount sale without doing longer-term price research? Don't worry, you're not the only one. An estimated 166.3 million people will visit brick-and-mortar stores during this year's Black Friday, and that's just in America. Overseas, it's truly a holiday for people to prepare for. Like in the attached video.
Reality vs. reality
Walmart is a very popular store where you can get just about anything. If you've never been there in person, you'll know it from American movies or TV shows. Walmart is one of those stores that has been preparing for Black Friday for months. Not just the employees, but the customers as well. Before online shopping became widespread, it was common for people to spend the night outside the mall. Adrenaline, adventure, struggle, excitement, disappointment, joy, euphoria, madness, all followed the opening of the front door. In the first video you can see how Black Friday started at Walmart in 2010. In the second video, see what advertising the company came up with to entice customers to go on a leisurely shopping spree a few years later.
It's worth buying nothing on Black Friday
Literally! The creators of the popular game Cards Against Humanity (by the way, we can recommend it for teambuilding) decided that they wanted to tap into the shopping frenzy called Black Friday. On that glorious day, they advertised that you could pay $5 for nothing. All other items from the sale were removed and replaced with a single payment form. This led to giving the company $5 and getting nothing in return. You think only a moron would fall for that? You're wrong, more than 11,000 customers took action and the company raised $71,145 just by doing so. And even though the company is a regular donor to various charities, they decided to split these proceeds among their employees as a holiday allowance.
Crystal discount at the end
Let's take a little detour from Black Friday, and move to the beginning of November. For historical context, we first need to recall that on the night between November 8 and 9, 1938, there was a widespread anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany. Hundreds of synagogues were burned, shops owned by Jewish proprietors were looted, and about a hundred Jews were killed. In Germany, the anniversary of Kristallnacht is taken very seriously, as this night is often referred to as the beginning of the Holocaust. This year, its commemoration has made history in a slightly different way. Fast food chain KFC sent out a message to all users of their app on the morning of 9 November saying: 'A day to remember the Reich's Kristallnacht - treat yourself to a soft cheese with crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!". This doesn't even need our sarcastic commentary, this is marketing bottom line done right. The company eventually apologised under pressure, it was supposedly a "system error".
We wish you a Black Friday free of mental and financial harm this year. We also wish you a pleasant first Advent and we look forward to the next time! If you are interested in learning more about our work, be sure to follow us on our Instagram and LinkedIn.
