Has Black Friday Evolved Into Cyber November?

Black Friday seems to have transformed from a one-day retail event into a season-long frenzy of deals and discounts spanning weeks — or even months. As early promotions and heightened e-commerce strategies blur the lines between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, some have begun to question whether the holiday shopping season has outgrown its traditional calendar boundaries.

We asked our BrainTrust members their thoughts on the matter.

Online vs. Brick-and-Mortar: A Shifting Landscape

Online shopping has reshaped the way consumers approach Black Friday. According to Neil Saunders, managing director for GlobalData Retail, nearly 30% of Black Friday spending happens online, and this trend is only growing. The convenience of shopping from home — without battling crowds — appeals to many, especially as retailers offer the same deals online.

However, the in-store experience still has its fans. Saunders stated, “Many shoppers still love going out in person, including younger shoppers, to find bargains and to get out of the house. But what most people do is combine online and stores to make their Black Friday experience efficient.”

Georganne Bender, principal of KIZER & BENDER Speaking, also argued that Black Friday remains a beloved tradition for brick-and-mortar shoppers: “The simple fact of the matter is that consumers love Black Friday. And they love it in-store. People plan for it, friends and family shop together, swapping stories about what they got and how much they saved long afterward. It’s a brick-and-mortar time-honored shopping tradition that isn’t going anywhere. Consumers may complain about crowds, but sitting around a computer with your friends looking at deals isn’t nearly as much fun.”

However, some do seem to enjoy the convenience of shopping from home. “There will always be the tradition of Black Friday in-store shopping held by many, however, it’s not about the deal hunting it once was; and certainly many (more), including myself, are happy to sit home, eating leftovers in cozy clothes, shopping online,” said Shannon Flanagan, founder and CEO of Retail Connected.

Younger shoppers, in particular, enjoy the hunt for in-person bargains, and retailers can capitalize on this by offering exclusive deals or creating festive in-store experiences. According to Lucille DeHart, principal of MKT Marketing Services and marketing expert for Columbus Consulting, “Gone are the days of Midnight Madness and Early AM Door Busters. Brick and mortar, however, still has a role to play and needs to pivot its approach. Ideas like ‘in-store only’ offers or select merchandise and limited editions can create a sense of urgency and destination.”

Still, the lines between online and in-store shopping are increasingly blurred. Many shoppers combine both channels, hunting for deals online throughout the holiday weekend while also making in-person visits. Retailers that seamlessly integrate digital and physical experiences may see the biggest rewards.

The Early Bird Gets the Discount

Another major shift is the relentless march of early promotions. Retailers now start their holiday sales well before Thanksgiving. “With Black Friday sales and promotions beginning now as soon as the day after Halloween — or in some cases, Labor Day — and with Black Friday being extended to almost Christmas day, the event today is merely what I will call ‘holiday promotions,’” said David Biernbaum, founder and president of David Biernbaum & Associates LLC. “E-commerce and retailers alike are treating the event as a fourth-quarter sales event more so than just Friday and Monday.”

This extended timeline gives consumers more time to shop, but it also risks diluting the excitement of Black Friday. Flanagan pointed out that Amazon’s October Prime Big Deal Days event has set a precedent, forcing other retailers to launch earlier deals to compete and “ensure they don’t lose market share.”

However, Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy for CI&T, noted that starting in October could backfire: “Overall, consumers have adopted such a cost-conscious mindset that they have been picking up deals when and where they can get them, so specifically advertising holiday deals early likely would cut into deals they would have offered later on.” She added that starting in early November is “fair game since we have a shortened window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.”

Brandon Rael, strategy & operations leader at Kyndryl, also emphasized that earlier promotions and less time between the holidays mandate strategic planning. “A condensed holiday season means a limited period for retail businesses to meet their sales targets,” he explained. “It’s imperative for these businesses to accelerate their personalized marketing efforts and entice customers with their best offers well before the post-Thanksgiving rush. Although some may prefer a gradual approach to increasing promotional activities, retailers who present their most attractive deals earlier will gain the advantage of heightened consumer attention.”

Black Friday’s New Role in Holiday Shopping

As early promotions stretch the holiday season, Black Friday is evolving from the kickoff event to a midpoint. Perry Kramer, managing partner at Retail Consulting Partners, stated, “Black Friday and Cyber Monday have all blended into an event that should be called ‘What is left from this month’s best deals.’” For many, the thrill of doorbuster deals at midnight has been replaced by an expectation of discounts spread across weeks.

However, Kramer also noted that “the Black Friday weekend remains very important as a driver of deals and shopping incentives. It continues to place a psychological pressure on consumers to check their lists and bargain shop.”

Jamie Tenser, president of VSN Media, also highlighted the event’s enduring appeal: “The pleasant (if sometimes stressful) ritual of shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend still has appeal for many. It’s good to wander among the decorations downtown or at the mall, and savvy retailers may reserve a few deals for in-person shoppers.” But even Tenser suggested that Black Friday and Cyber Monday no longer feel confined to a single weekend, quipping, “Maybe we should start calling it ‘Cyber November.’”

And he’s not the only one with that view. “Brands now use BFCM as a catch-all phrase meaning ‘big sale,’” said Patricia V Waldron, contributing editor for RetailWire. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday haven’t been one-day events for some time, they have become an extended sales season that has crept into summer.”

“Black Friday is now officially Black and Blue, its relevance to consumer shopping patterns severely diminished,” Warren Shoulberg, senior contributor for The Robin Report, added. “It’s why the short window between Thanksgiving and Christmas is largely irrelevant. With consumers starting their shopping in early fall — if not before — nobody is waiting for the day after Thanksgiving to get going. We need to stop thinking of this finite period as the barometer for industry sales. It’s a brave new shopping world out there…and none of us really know how it’s going to evolve.”

Retailers are also finding new ways to adapt. According to David Spear, VP of professional services for NCR Voyix, “Online continues to grow, which is slowly biting into Black Friday’s in-store excitement. I think several retailers understand this shift and are creating bigger and more compelling in-store displays with their Christmas offerings.” For example, Home Depot installed its holiday displays a few weeks ago, according to Spear.

DeHart suggested creating unique holiday experiences that can serve as both entertainment and buying opportunities, like “pop-ups, mini-holiday markets, shopping nights, and food/wine tastings,” to make Black Friday shopping feel special. Meanwhile, online platforms are focusing on personalized recommendations and faster shipping to capture attention.

What’s Next for Black Friday?

Black Friday’s shift to a broader shopping season reflects changing consumer habits, but its future depends on how retailers evolve their strategies. 

“To maximize the shortest holiday shopping season in five years, retailers have adopted a more aggressive playbook to re-capture consumer attention,” Adam Dumey, global vice president of retail for World Wide Technology, explained. “The major levers have been earlier holiday shopping discounts — illustrated by Walmart’s earlier-than-ever holiday deals — and deeper promotional strategies — as evidenced by Amazon Prime’s Big Deal Days YoY discount increase of approximately 14%.”

He continued, “They’re also poised to leverage a Black Friday event that has become the cornerstone of U.S. consumers’ holiday shopping behavior, as evidenced by NRF’s most recent research confirming that 72% of shoppers plan to ‘head out to stores or shop online’ this year. Given the shorter runway and lower YoY inventory levels, retailers are likely to continue their 2024 pattern of enticing value-oriented consumers with heftier discounting strategies.”

Waldron added, “Given this year’s economic and geopolitical conditions, there are more cost-conscious consumers with smaller, more selective shopping lists, many of whom have already begun buying during the earlier sales.” She noted that retailers will need to “optimize their prices, offer convenience, and curate a unique assortment” to win over these increasingly selective shoppers.

Even with more cautious consumers, the NRF still predicts that there will be a record number of shoppers over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. According to its annual survey, “A record 183.4 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year.” This is slightly up from 182 million in 2023 and “18.1 million people more than five years ago in 2019.”

Others also felt optimistic about the upcoming holiday weekend. “I am hopeful that consumers will feel more confident in wanting to spend more directional money on Black Friday,” Richard Hernandez, executive search leader for RJR Executive Search, stated. “I think more shopping will be done online than in-person brick-and-mortar stores. Many retailers have already started their Black Friday sales to hopefully get a head start on those more confident customers.”

Some are a little more cynical about the future of the event, however. Dick Seesel, principal of Retailing in Focus, shared, “Black Friday used to be the biggest sales volume day of the year for many retailers. More than that, it became a community event and cultural phenomenon. While brick-and-mortar shopping has rebounded after the pandemic, Black Friday has not. Online shopping is the main reason (with Cyber Monday morphing into Cyber Everyday), but retailers’ nonstop promotional calendars have taken the spotlight off of Black Friday too.”

Lisa Goller, B2B content strategist at Lisa Goller Marketing, added, “Black Friday’s impact as a one-day retail extravaganza has declined over the past decade.”

But to her, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Black Friday had been preempted by a shift to ‘Cyber November.’ In 2020, Amazon pulled the holiday sales calendar forward even further with a mid-October Prime Day that took the strain off the supply chain. Many retailers and consumers have changed their habits to benefit from earlier deals, superior availability, and less stress,” Goller said.

While the days of massive crowds storming stores at midnight may be fading, the spirit of Black Friday — whether online or in-store — remains a cornerstone of the holiday shopping season. Retailers who can balance tradition with innovation will likely be best positioned to thrive in this new era.