Will Black Friday Remain Relevant?

Jeff Weisbein -

Black Friday is a day which happens once a year.  It’s a day when people traditionally wait on extraordinarily long lines and fight with each other over products in an attempt to get the best deals on their holiday presents.  However, today, with the Internet, it’s much easier to find deals online.  In fact, it is easier to find deals online every day of the year – not just on Black Friday.  And let’s not forget that there are no lines to wait on when shopping online.  And the only fight you may encounter really comes down to who can click the fastest.

What am I getting at?  Well, is Black Friday as relevant today as it has traditionally been in the past?  Perhaps from a retailer standpoint, it’s the time of the year where they are “in the black” due to increased holiday sales, but, from the consumer aspect, does it really matter?  Deals are plentiful online.  More often than not you are able to find some kind of coupon code to save some money on a purchase.  Granted, they may not be as “good” as during Black Friday, but still, there are some awesome sales and exclusive online deals throughout the year.

Black Friday appears to just be a day where sales are even more publicized because consumers are actually looking for them.  The door buster deals are usually lower-end products which retailers/wholesalers are looking to get rid of, while the higher-end products are sold close to (if not the same) price as any usual sale.  Of course we now have Cyber Monday, the Monday after Black Friday which is essentially the equivalent of Black Friday but exclusively online.

While Black Friday sales did increase slightly this year from last year it may be in large part due to the extended discounts and sales offered by retailers leading up to (and after) Black Friday.  Black Friday is here to stay, it’s a tradition and also a marker which signifies the beginning of holiday season spending.  I don’t see Black Friday going away anytime soon, but that’s not to say it’s as important to consumers as it has been in the past.