Whether you believe the day's name comes from the prevalent practice of "calling a sicky" or Philadelphia police slang, the day after Thanksgiving is known for massive discounts that lead to shopping chaos.
Due to the overwhelming volume of sales, Black Friday deals 2022 has expanded to include not only additional countries, notably the United Kingdom, but also the entire weekend, culminating in "Cyber Monday." Amazon was so moved by the occasion that they created their own "Prime Day," with a slew of promotions and discounts available on their online marketplace. It's easy to see why retailers participate, given that customers spent £2.5 billion on Black Friday alone last year, which was dubbed a "disappointing performance" by several pundits. Black Friday 2022, on the other hand, will have a radically different appearance and feel this year.
Customers clawing and clambering over each other to obtain a giant screen TV during one of Asda's Black Friday store ads is set to be replaced by an almost silent High Street and a boom in internet spending this year. But, in the event of a pandemic, what does a Black Friday 2022 entail for shoppers and retailers?
In this article, we will discuss the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on consumers' shopping behavior on Black Friday 2022.
Customers – Website breakdowns, online shopping, and delivery expenses
For shoppers, Black Friday shopping habits will probably feel more like trying to get special festival tickets than swarming Currys PC World. Due to the shutdown of non-essential retailers in England, most, if not all, Black Friday 2022 deal-hunting will take place this year behind laptop screens rather than in spectacular Christmas window displays.
During the first lockdown, high street footfall was destroyed, and many people turned to internet shopping and home delivery as a way to avoid potentially infectious crowds. While high street footfall has recovered to some extent, it was still 33.7 percent lower in September 2020 than in September 2019. This had a varying impact across the country, with Central London experiencing a -55.5 percent drop while Coastal Towns fared much better at -17.1 percent.
Many British high street shops, including Currys PC World, Argos, John Lewis, Superdrug, The Body Shop, Kurt Geiger, and Mango[1], have already declared their Black Friday 2022 participation. Customers may get bargains from a wide selection of stores at the stroke of a button, making it a considerably faster, easier, and safer way to shop than the throngs on the high street on November 29th.
When everyone hurries to grab bargains online on November 27th this year, as everyone who has attempted to purchase festival tickets knows, there are sure to be frustrating website crashes and delays. Some retailers are attempting to mitigate the risk of this happening by starting their sales early in order to limit internet traffic. Some businesses, such as Currys PC World, are also providing customers a price difference return if prices fall between the time of purchase and Black Friday. Customers should be aware, however, that there is a chance of further delays and basket losses.
The accretion of delivery charges is another possible disadvantage for customers during this online Black Friday. While there has been a rise in the number of UK merchants offering free delivery in recent years, many high street labels still have a minimum spend requirement or charge a flat cost of £3.00-£4.00 for ordinary delivery, which may cut into customers' perceived savings. Of course, for those willing to face a journey to their local store, Click & Collect options are still available in many circumstances. Customers may choose longer fulfilment lead times over shorter, more expensive lead times in the future, according to several businesses. Moving to this model will also relieve strain on carriers, who will surely experience an increase in demand for home delivery as a result of the change.
Retailers — Empty storefronts, sterilization of returns, and product selections that are suitable for indoor use
Since the new regulations took effect on November 5, 2020, in England, all non-essential retailers, such as apparel and homeware stores, have been forced to close their doors to the public, but they can still offer Click & Collect and delivery. Even for those who are authorized to open, certain criteria must be followed in order to decrease the amount of physical contact between customers and employees and to comply with regulatory regulations. This means that, in comparison to 2019, British retailers will have to drastically change their tactics, posing a variety of obstacles.
Despite the drop in high street footfall, the latest ONS data reveals that retail sales restored to pre-pandemic levels in August, which could be an indication that consumer confidence is improving.
Those who have unrestricted movement and have accumulated a cash surplus as a result of limited out-of-house activities, for example, may wish to treat themselves by spending more than usual and may wish to order all of their Christmas gifts in one day, as all purchases are likely to be made online this year anyway. Those who have been restricted in their movement and have been badly impacted monetarily, on the other hand, will considerably reduce their spending and focus on essential products, while also possibly being obliged to pay for Home Delivery. For the past few years, November and December have been the busiest months for retail eCommerce, but the pandemic has boosted sales significantly – June 2020 was 15% higher than December 2019 – and with a Wells Fargo survey indicating that 70% of consumers do not plan to return to stores this year, online sales are likely to rise even more as we approach the traditional eCommerce peak.
Not only will merchants need to take extra care in their front-end operations, but they will also need to think about how they will manage returns. This is especially important for fashion shops, as apparel returns often range from 30 to 40%, and this is typically compounded by a boom in sales on Black Friday.
Unpredictable demand, habits, and appetites on Black Friday shopping habits 2022
In comparison to prior years, Black Friday shopping habits 2022 are anticipated to be both unpredictable and dramatically different. Given the overall economic scenario in which customers find themselves this year, demand patterns will be highly volatile.
Because the majority of Black Friday will be spent online this year, retailers will need to come up with new and innovative ways to engage customers (i.e. new technologies), deliver on their promises, and minimize the drawbacks (i.e. returns, extra cleaning) that come with the "new normal" in a Covid-19 world.
To sum up, the covid-19 impacts consumer shopping behavior strongly on Black Friday 2022. Shoppers tend to look for the best Black Friday deals to save money when shopping.
