The Threat of Black Friday Hours!

Retailers race to be the first open

In 2011, while the retail industry opened at 12:00 am on Black Friday, Walmart surprised everyone by opening two hours earlier at 10:00 pm the night before. Since then, opening early has become the strategic element that will increase a stores’ odds of becoming a customer’s first destination. Fast forward to 2016. With the same objective, Walmart shifted from a single day for Black Friday to a whole Black Friday Week, while other retailers just decided to open on Thursday at 5:00 pm.

Thanksgiving, the oldest, most celebrated, and embraced tradition, which carries the potential to bridge divided mentalities and cultures, has retailers continuously putting it at risk of losing all purposeful meaning. We have an uncontested opportunity to minimize backlash and take a stand to reflect our purpose and values, all while aligning them with the operational practices.

• Within an increasingly divided political climate where social issues transform fear into courageous social causes, Thanksgiving can become America’s common ground.
• While some extreme shoppers (17.96%) appreciate the earlier hours, the general public does not see dragging employees and shoppers out of their homes in a positive light.
• Public perception is important and most Americans do not have favorable opinions regarding stores that decide to stay open on Thanksgiving.

Black Friday Classic

“The acid test of a satisfying brand relationship is rooted not in grand gestures or even in constant chatter and interactions, but rather in thoughtful, empathic actions and small, meaningful deeds that both improve our daily lives and help us to feel as though we belong to a group of like-minded people.”

Start putting your strategy into action, and let’s work together.