Historically, Black Friday has been the biggest day of the year for retailers. As big-box stores grew in size and number, they offered steeper discounts to get people in the doors on the day after Thanksgiving. They also opened earlier in an attempt to lure ambitious shoppers trying to snag the best deals.
However, Cyber Monday has rapidly emerged as an even bigger holiday shopping day. Shoppers often end up buying tons of Christmas presents, home goods, and other products on both days. With online shopping being more convenient than ever, many consumers choose to shop from home.
The Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday debate is less about which is better, and more about where to look for the best deals on each day.
Black FridayThe term "Black Friday" was initially used to describe troublesome crowds. The Army-Navy football game, which was traditionally hosted in Philadelphia the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was notorious for drawing huge crowds to town the night before. Local police started to dub the day "Black Friday" and, in the 1980s, local retailers began using the phrase as well.
Black Friday is now famous for massive crowds in stores. At first, retailers took the day in stride and opened an hour or two early to try to entice customers. Now, some retailers even open on Thanksgiving night to offer customers extra-early discounts.
Both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers have Black Friday sales. However, some customers want to avoid brick-and-mortar stores, in part because they don't want to deal with parking, long lines, and troublesome crowds.
With the rise of the internet came a new kind of business: online retail. Since the at-home internet in the early 2000s tended to be slow dial-up, many office workers did online shopping from their work computers. Retailers soon figured out they could make their own major sale day on the Monday after Thanksgiving as people returned to work.
As internet speeds increased and more people moved from dial-up to broadband, entire families were willing to spend time shopping online instead of in brick-and-mortar stores. Now, online retailers of all sizes participate in Cyber Monday, but brick-and-mortar retailers generally do not. Cyber Monday deals are often as good as or better than Black Friday sales, as retailers try to attract shoppers who may have a few more Christmas presents left on their list.
Which Event Is Bigger?Both online and brick-and-mortar stores participate in Black Friday, while Cyber Monday generally only has online sales. As of 2018, though, Cyber Monday has become more popular than Black Friday in terms of overall revenue. The 2018 Cyber Monday revenue totaled $7.9 billion, while Black Friday revenue was a mere $6.2 billion. While both figures were a new record, Cyber Monday's revenue has grown much more rapidly since its beginnings in 2005.
Since brick-and-mortar stores rely heavily on Black Friday sales to break even, they may begin to use new strategies to remain popular in future years. In the meantime, the convenience and speed of Cyber Monday shopping seem to be more popular with consumers.
Comparison shopping ahead of time is easier than you think. Most retailers pour tons of money into advertising in the days leading up to Black Friday, and you will likely receive paper catalogs in the mail. You can usually look up your favorite retailers' websites and check their listings well ahead of time.
For appliance deals, the best discounts can be found in surprising places. While it may seem like you have to go to a brick-and-mortar store to get sale prices, online retailers also have amazing deals. Refrigerator, oven, and washer and dryer deals are just as easy to find as clothing or electronics discounts. For online shoppers, Goedeker's offers free shipping to the 48 continental states.
Sometimes retailers have flash sales or other surprise discounts they don't advertise ahead of time. It's a good idea to check on retailers' web pages early Friday and Monday morning, even if nothing caught your eye in the previous week. Retailers with both brick-and-mortar and online stores will sometimes only offer a particular discount online or in-person, so make sure to read the fine print carefully before showing up.
Dealing with CrowdsThere's no easy way to avoid crowds in brick-and-mortar retailers on Black Friday. Even when stores open the night before, you will either have to deal with crowds or risk missing out on sales when inventory runs out. As stores offer increasingly enticing "doorbuster" discounts to lure shoppers in, the crowds may become even more unbelievable.
You can quickly navigate the store to your desired products by mapping out the store ahead of Black Friday. Keep your coupons handy so that you can get in and out of the store quickly.
Final WordYou can get fantastic appliance discounts at home on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. At Goedeker's, we're already getting ready for the biggest sales of the year. Bookmark our Black Friday page and get ready for our deals on washers, dryers, refrigerators, and other appliances.
