Pre-Black Friday Sales Are an Emerging Business Trend

Pre-Black Friday sales offer advantages to both retailers and shoppers

By Sam Sisakhti

, Founder of UsTrendy

November 21, 2012

About Sam Sisakhti:

Sam Sisakhti is an entrepreneur and founder of UsTrendy, an online clothing retailer formed in 2008 which aims to help independent fashion designers sell their products, obtain funding, and gain other assistance to launch and grow their indie clothing lines.

For both retailers and shoppers, there are significant advantages to running pre-Black Friday sales. Every business owner, and specifically retailers, should recognize customer satisfaction as a core objective. With the current state of the economy, many consumers have limited disposable income and are consistently comparing prices year-round, including the days and weeks before Black Friday.

Additionally, many shoppers dread the Black Friday shopping surge and try to avoid it at all costs. Instead, these consumers are doing their holiday shopping earlier and pre-sales have become more prevalent. For retailers, it is critical to be aware of this trend in the market and adjust business and sales models accordingly. Numerous companies have noticed an early "holiday sales spike" this year prior to Black Friday due to an apparent change in consumer behavior. Pre-Black Friday marketing materials such as E-newsletters are delivering higher conversion rates, as well.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

Relevancy is also a deciding factor for retailers leading into the holiday shopping season. In the past, flash sales were a popular trend within the retail industry. Today, pre-Black Friday sales are emerging as a trend amongst businesses. In order for companies to remain relevant and competitive, it has become necessary to design a pre-Black Friday sales campaign.

Some may argue that traditional "brick-and-mortar" retailers actually lose money by running presales due to additional payroll expenses and extended operating hours, as well as potential lulls in December. However, online retailers do not incur any discernible costs by running early sales, and are even becoming more popular amongst last-minute holiday shoppers, which can positively influence sales figures in December. Virtually every retailer can benefit from pre-Black Friday sales if they are correctly marketed and integrated into their existing sales model as consumer interest in reducing expenses prior to Black Friday continues to increase.