What’s the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and how important can they be to your business?

This year, Brits are expected to spend over £7 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

That’s pretty incredible for a trading period that was invented in the United States (Black Friday was traditionally the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving and designed to give retailers a kickstart into the holiday shopping season). But, it also points to some pretty big opportunities for businesses.

You may have bought your own bargains during one of these sales periods, but I wouldn’t blame you for wondering how they could benefit your business.

More importantly, what’s the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

The when, what and how of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

This year’s Black Friday (the date shifts each year) will take place on 29^th November. Despite this - and a bit like Christmas - it has become something of a multi-day event, with many retailers releasing their Black Friday deals earlier each year.

Cyber Monday is similar, in so far as it falls on the Monday immediately after Thanksgiving, making this year’s event 2^nd December. It too takes place over a longer period than a single day, and is, relatively speaking, a newer concept than Black Friday.

There’s one significant difference that separates the two. While Black Friday is intended for all retailers - from those running bricks-and-mortar stores to eCommerce - Black Friday is focused entirely on the latter.

Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman of the US National Retail Federation and Shop.org are credited with devising Cyber Monday. When it first made an appearance in 2005, it was a deliberate attempt to promote online shopping. These days, consumers don’t really need a push to hit the digital high street, but that hasn’t stopped Cyber Monday becoming a key entry on many calendars.

What’s the difference between the two?

Cyber Monday was intended to give smaller online retailers the ability to shout loud above the din of the big high street brands, but, as you’d expect, those same big brands soon jumped on the Cyber Monday bandwagon.

This makes it tricky to discern a tangible difference between the two sales periods, and therefore even trickier to work out which one (if any) you should jump on as a business owner.

Thankfully, there are some key differences which should help you work out which one will be best for your own promotions.

• The bricks-and-mortar element. This bears repeating: Black Friday deals can be found both online and on the high street. It’s therefore perfect for businesses with physical locations, but you should be keenly aware of the ruckus that can be caused if yours becomes popular and results in angry confrontations between consumers.
• Fashion. There are a few industries which treat Cyber Monday with the respect it deserves. Fashion retailers, for instance, tend to offer site wide discounts during Cyber Monday, rather than distributing their offers across the two sales periods.
• Smaller appliances and white goods. Although you’re likely to find great deals of this nature on Black Friday, Cyber Monday seems to be the sweet spot when it comes to smaller tech or appliances. Therefore, if your business sits within that realm, you’d do well to save your best deals until the Monday.

Despite the differences above, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can work really well together. This is why a lot of retailers will continue their deals across the two periods, sometimes using the latter to offer further reductions.

It’s also worth noting that consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about jumping on Black Friday deals as soon as they become available, due to clever tactics on behalf of brands like Amazon, who make it abundantly clear that their promotions have a short lifespan.

That means, if you decide to jump on either of these sales periods as a business, eliciting an air of exclusivity and scarcity is of paramount importance.

Is it for B2C only?

Absolutely not. I firmly believe Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be put into action for B2B businesses, too.

Both terms have been used to illustrate deals in the B2B space, therefore if you have a product or service that can be discounted, picking a time of the year when people are on high bargain alert is pretty smart.

Which one is right for your business? That’s entirely up to your appetite for offering deals and whether or not you run a bricks-and-mortar or eCommerce (or both) operation.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, though, so why not connect with me on social media and tell me what you think about Black Friday and Cyber Monday?