Black Friday cons
However, not everyone thinks making a few extra sales is worth the madness. Here are the cons:
- Pressure to discount – smaller businesses can’t afford to discount as heavily as larger ones but are forced to by customer expectation
- Reduced margins – those that do cut costs risk a major impact to their profit margins
- Increase in customer returns – the frenzy can cause many shoppers to buy things they then regret, which often aren’t returned in time to be sold at Christmas
- Training customers to wait for discounts – if customers are expecting offers, you’re likely to see your sales decline in the weeks leading up to Black Friday as they wait for a better deal
- Sustainability – in an age of heightened awareness around sustainability, Black Friday seems to be at odds with the times
- Workers rights – someone has to fulfill all these orders, are you aware of the conditions of the warehouses where all these goods are being stored
Against Black Friday
The following contributors’ views range from skeptical to downright anti. Craig Wills, co-founder of brand growth agency Big Blue, assesses the relevance of Black Friday in relation to the rapidly changing retail landscape in the UK :
“It’s a fair-trade right? Stock gets shifted, punters get a deal – money flows. But does it really deliver against the ‘into the black’ promise? With many UK High Street brands in freefall, rapid shapeshifting; monoliths collapsing by the week reported profit slumps and the offloading of bricks and mortar it seems that Black Friday is far from the ultimate saviour.
“People LOVE a deal. Deal wins over everything. Price is king. Brand is dead. Commodity rules. See you at the bottom. ‘Ta ra’
“Well, not necessarily. The last few years have seen a Francis of Assisi style ‘bringing of light’ – where a growing group of businesses are fervently embracing all that is right and good and loved about their brand and allowing this to guide their [alternative] Black Friday antics, serving to create a more meaningful expression of loyalty underpinned by powerful customer insight.
“Inspired by the maverick Patagonia ‘Don’t buy this jacket’ counter-Black Friday campaign in 2011, a raft of brands continue to emerge bold and brave. Not ‘anti’ but as alternatives – a bit of ‘turn off, tune out, go do something else’ spirit’ to reconcile rampant consumerism and brand goodness. One bold player in the US gives its entire 12,000 staff the day off and encourages staff and customers to enjoy the holiday and the outdoors.
“It’s a curious conundrum; contrary to the popular view that there is a binary win/lose outcome around Black Friday – pure cut price sales are seemingly not the only option open to the brand wanting in on the action and the customer up for a bit of something.
“Of course where margin can prop up a 50% price slash, free delivery and more costly giveaways then great, go fill your basket. But when the day is done, the most potent lever to loyalty is rarely pure price; a demonstration of values, humanity, creativity and an eye on the long game always pays dividends – isn’t that right High Street?”
This anti-Black Friday sentiment is finding growing support in the UK as well. Rachel Fortune, founder of the Sustainable Lifestyle Awards, is even holding an event this week to highlight the importance of conscious consumerism and encourage sustainability.
“Everyone loves a bargain, of course they do, but the issue I take with enormous shopping events like Black Friday / Cyber Monday is that it fosters a kind of frantic, mindless consumerism that sees impulsive purchases made for the sake of products largely being discounted rather than actually being needed.
“It’s very easy for ourselves to make purchasing decisions in amidst the Black Friday hype, giving little regard for how particular purchases collude not only with unethical supply chain practices that affect the vulnerable, but on the environment too – and all for the sake of a bargain.
“Small business and independent brands are not as adequately equipped to compete effectively with large retailers when it comes to Black Friday; the business model doesn’t allow for the pile-them-up-high-sell-them-cheap strategy; nor do I feel that they should feel obligated to conform. Their strength is in their individuality as a brand, in the service they provide, in the small scale products they produce, in the impact they have on local communities. These elements can trump the lure of a bargain.
“But because the sustainability movement is gaining more traction, I think people are starting to ‘vote' with their money too – supporting brands and businesses that have a social impact. Imagine being able to make a positive change to society and the global community just by making careful and mindful purchases; just simply by shopping better. It’s quite a compelling thing if you frame it that way.
“Sustainable Lifestyle Awards. It’s the first awards of its kind to verify and celebrate brands that hold both style and substance in equal measure, genuinely helping consumers to live a more sustainable lifestyle and shining a spotlight on the conscientious creators who are dedicated to making beautiful products with a positive social and environmental impact. Its very existence is to champion daily change.
“The event we’re hosting with the online ethical concept store, Lone Design Club is deliberately held during Black Friday week to underline conscious consumerism, profile the most sustainable, eco and ethically run business in the UK as selected by us and some of the most prominent figures within the retail and sustainability space, and put a positive voice on the sustainability movement.”
Another potential pitfall is highlighted by Rachel Jones, founder of SnapDragon Monitoring, which monitors, reports and removes infringing goods from the world’s most busy marketplaces.
In 2016 alone, SnapDragon prevented the sale of $10bn worth of counterfeits and successfully removed over 600 links to counterfeit items. Jones knows first hand the damage that can be done to small businesses by online scams. Her own small business, Totseat, was victim to an online counterfeiting scam. And Black Friday presents perils of its own.
“While many shoppers are simply keen to get their Christmas shopping in early, an increasing number of internet-savvy buyers go after fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) at knock-down rates only to resell, almost immediately, at a profit, throwing what was a relatively organised online distribution chain into chaos.
“Many of the brands we work with suffer specifically from this phenomenon, and have identified Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales as the chink in their otherwise well-protected brand armour.
“Unauthorised sellers are a nuisance. They might not be selling low-cost counterfeit goods (or they may be!) but their products are generally still sold at a lower RRP, causing a headache for those who do adhere to the minimum advertised pricing (MAP). So, what can be done?
“While registering for Brand Registry and Transparency should help the cause, brands cannot force Amazon to enforce their distribution policy, nor can they force the platform to stop sellers from listing their products. Brands face the same issues on other major marketplaces, including eBay and across the Alibaba platforms.
“It is worth considering publishing information about your authorised sellers on your website or social media platforms. This way, potential customers will know where to go and who to trust. Buying from an unauthorised seller can have consequences. Safety concerns aside, reselling a product often invalidates its warranty, causing serious headaches for customers if something goes wrong further down the line. Be vigilant, and make sure that your customers know this.
“Getting to know your supply chain and distribution network is crucial. How are you supposed to help your customers buy safely if you don’t know where to direct them? Monitor online platforms and keep in touch with authorised sellers regularly. There are online brand monitoring tools out there that can simplify this task, but education is key.”
Beamly urges businesses to create their own Black Friday moments:
“A year-round robust omni-channel approach – that monitors and identifies culturally relevant consumer trends – lets smaller brands create their own key trading moments on days other than the 29th November.
“Take the Wimbledon Championships, for example. If you run a beauty start-up, push your strawberries and cream scented products over these two weeks, while the prestigious tournament lingers in the public psyche. Recognising culturally relevant events such as these allow challenger brands to compete, and this is most easily achieved through a strategic omni-channel approach.”
Startups
via https://aiupnow.com
Henry Williams, Khareem Sudlow
