5 Reasons Why My Company Doesn´t Participate in Black Friday
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And so far it´s been one of the best corporate decisions taken
I am the owner of a small eco-friendly business, and for the third year in a row, my company will not be participating in Black Friday.
“What? Are you crazy?”
That´s the reply I usually get when I share this great news with a smile on my face. And let me tell you that: “No, I´m not crazy” and it´s actually one of the best corporate decisions I´ve taken since starting this adventure.
Rowing upstream consumerism
Nowadays, it seems mandatory to offer discounts on Black Friday. What started as an offer for electronics rapidly grew into a party of consumerism, where all kinds of businesses make their products lose value to gain a small piece of a cake called “customer”.
Some brands use it to attract new customers, others to continue selling to their existing ones, and others simply do it because “it is the right thing to do”. Without questioning if it really suits them or if it goes in line with their values, the only motivation that drives these brands is to increase their turnover figures, but: under which cost?
Yes, the sales numbers can be large but there are involved costs like extra pay, extra hours, extra planning and marketing, and extra hassle for a bunch of low-margin purchases made by the kinds of customers who most likely will not buy in your store until the next Black Friday celebration.
After carefully analyzing my thoughts and sharing them with my team. We decided not to be involved in Black Friday, and here are the 5 main reasons why.
1. It encourages compulsive shopping
Have you found yourself looking at some piece of cloth you purchased and asking why you did that? And now think if you bought it because it was on sale. Probably 50% of your replies will be “YES”.
According to the research made by the Association for Consumer Research: “Limited-time offers increase anticipatory regret or fear of missing out — which drives people to purchase things they otherwise wouldn’t”. Consumers tend to give in to a limited-time offer because: “that such offers inhibit…
