Are Black Friday Deals Arriving Earlier?

 

I've been receiving lots of e-mails advertising "Black Friday Deals" before Thanksgiving ever arrived.  In fact, I think I got my first ones around Halloween so I wondered if these deals have been showing up earlier and earlier.  Sort of like seeing Christmas stuff at Halloween.  For those of you unfamiliar with the history of Black Friday deals, the event began back in the 1950's in Philadelphia.  Apparently, the police were upset with having to control the masses of shoppers who descended on the town the day after Thanksgiving and they coined the phrase.

Since the advent of the digital age, Black Friday has spread and attracted more people since they can shop online rather than physically going from store to store.  It has been observed that Black Friday is no longer just on Friday but has expanded to include Cyber Monday sales.  

One researcher found that notices of Black Friday deals have been arriving earlier and earlier so notices often begin arriving around Halloween.  This is something that has been happening over the past decade.  One reason for the earlier and earlier notices is due to the rising competition among retailers for limited funds and in the hopes of easing demands on shipping methods.  

Furthermore, when the term "Black Friday" is used before Thanksgiving, it is used as a marketing ploy because people associate the term with huge sales and savings.  In addition, many places have smaller sales leading up to the big event. Furthermore, with the use of Cyber Monday sales, and Small Business Saturday sales, the whole shopping season is being extended to at least a week after.  

In addition, it was found that many of the early Black Friday discounts are higher than they have been in the past.  Retailers are worried that people may not have as much money to spend this year due to inflation, even though things have eased a bit.  Retailers want extend the season to give shoppers a longer period to use the discounts.  

Black Friday is traditionally a time when stores make quite a bit of money and with the economy being the way it is, retailers, want to entice people to spend their money, especially since the economy has began slowing down around the beginning of October. They want to draw people in to spend their money.  Retailers are afraid that if they wait too late to begin their deals, consumers will shop elsewhere.

Furthermore, the discounts offered are on certain items so shoppers can't buy everything they want at once.  They have to wait as discounts are spread out over the season.  This way they get shoppers excited throughout the season and they are more likely to spend money over the whole season.  

I admit, I tend to enjoy deals but I'm not as bad as some of my friends.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.