There has been a large increase in search queries for ‘Black Friday’ items in the USA. Black Friday is the term used for the Friday following Thanksgiving in November, a day that many people take off as holiday – and as a consequence there is a huge spike in online shopping activity. Data collected by Google Trends suggests the spike is occurring earlier this year; perhaps because people are seeking out deal early due to the poor economic outlook, or possibly because retailers know the potential Black Friday has for generating sales, and are embracing it with special offers.
Online Shopping Spike
An 87 percent increase in traffic has been reported to sites luring shoppers with Black Friday deals, according to data collected by Nielson. In the week ending November 8 unique visitors achieved 3.8 million to such sites, increasing to 7 million during the week ending November 15. Data from Hitwise and Experian also showed an early increase, with a 4% leap for the pre-Thanksgiving week compared to the same week in 2008.
Bing Cashback
Bing’s Cashback system has seen Cashback offers of up to 35% from some retailers, beginning November 27 (Black Friday). Macy’s, AT&T, WalMart and eBay are among those taking part in Bing’s popular shopping incentive program. Discounts are provided when shoppers find products through Bing’s search engine.
Biggest Online Shopping Day
While many retailers (TV, online and store) have made moves to capitalise on Black Friday, there is some contention over which day is the biggest Christmas shopping day in terms of sales. Cyber Monday (the Monday following Black Friday) is cited by some, while some online retailers say November 22 is the big day. Others maintain that the most profitable shopping day falls between the 5th and 15th of December.
Downtime Risk
But when shoppers flock to certain websites at the same time the risk of downtime increases significantly. It is possible for one of the year’s most profitable days to be adversely affected by people being unable to complete transactions. With an increased number of Black Friday shoppers this year, many retailers are concerned about the risk of shopping cart abandonment. SeeWhy, a firm who monitors shopping cart abandonment rates, says that October of this year saw the highest abandonment rate – at 71%.
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