Are You Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2017?
Posted by Mendel on Nov 20th 2017
The two grandest days of the year for deal hunters are Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Also, Christmas shoppers take this opportunity to grab sales and discounts just in time for the gift-giving holiday. Black Friday always comes the day after Thanksgiving, so it is the last Friday of November.
Cyber Monday and Black Friday have long been a high-risk yet fruitful days for the sellers. Customers are preparing for the long lines and extended hours at stores all over the US. These days after Thanksgiving demand some complex planning for retailers eager to up their sales figures.
READ:
- 7 Common Black Friday Mistakes and Tips
- Shopping Tips for Black Friday Deals
- Black Friday Holiday Hacks that You Need to Know
What is Black Friday Cyber Monday (BCFM)?
Shopping became almost synonymous with the words turkey and football in American Thanksgiving. Black Friday has always been known because of the door crashers, deep discounts and extended lines in the stores.
The past decades shows that Cyber Monday creates thousands of sales online.
Many Shopify retailers also sell on different channels, both online and in store. These events are blended into one, which presents an opportunity to gain sales across the whole weekend. Lots of merchants run various campaigns leading up to and after BFCM.
History of BCFM
Black Friday began in the early 1950s. Back then, retail stores would offer big discounts and deals to start Christmas shopping season. The store profits would always tip into "the black" when all the receipts had been totalled. Multitudes of shoppers come in shops the day after Thanksgiving. It made the perfect day to buy in stores. Then, the internet was created. The rest was history. The start of Cyber Monday dates back to 2005. Before, online shopping needs a little push with shoppers a bit reluctant to buy stuff in the internet. Online stores began putting up their own big sales to contend with the profit juggernaut, Black Friday. Why is it named “Cyber Monday”? The internet had a moniker “cyberspace” in the old days. It is moved on Monday instead of Saturday because people like to shop while they’re at the office with fast desktops and high-speed internet. Monday was proven to be very lucrative so, the online stores continue the tradition all these years.Aren't they really the same thing?
The answer is simply: yes and no. Black Friday is for retail while Cyber Monday was the online world’s biggest shopping event. Before, you’ll have to hit the stores on Friday, then proceed scanning for goods in the cyber space on Monday. Today, Black Friday is just as much as an online event. Plenty of stores still put "doorbuster" sales that have people to actually appear. The online world has adapted to the Black Friday tradition. However, it doesn’t go the other way. Brick-and-mortar sales are just for Black Friday. Cyber Monday is just solely an online “holiday”.BFCM Today
BCFM was originated in the US. Now, it spreads cross-border because of its success. BCFM orders are increasing sales globally, with countries like India seeing as much as 173% growth in the previous year. This is according to Borderfree study in 2016. In Denmark, Shopify sellers incurred six times the number of orders on Black Friday than an average day.
It is an opportunity to gain big sales for businesses in every part of the world. The best thing is no massive chain retailers exclusively own this event.