Black Friday: why do the promotions start so early? “The first one to get people to spend wins the game.”

For several days, promotions in preparation for Black Friday have already been everywhere: on online sales sites, in stores, and even supermarkets. Perhaps a question of date (November 29, 2024) which is not ideal for sellers…

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Every year, Black Friday is awaited by thousands of buyers who are fans of good deals. But while it is only a week away, it has already been several days since the match between the sellers began. And this year, the “good deals” started very early, 3 weeks before this famous Friday…

A bad date?

These early promotions are not the result of chance, especially on online sites, since the start of this week. “In the world of e-commerce, competition is even stronger than in traditional commerce. Anything that can provide entertainment to attract traffic to your home is a good thing. This year, Black Friday is really coming at the end of the month. People have more money at the start of the month and the money they spent they no longer have to spend.”

Physical and online retailers are trying to be first on the ball. “I think that whoever launches their promotions the earliest, deemed attractive, has an advantage: the first one to get people to spend wins the game. There has been quite a bit of inflation lately. I think it's complicated. The end of the month is complicated for a certain number of people“.The goal would be to try to get people to spend earlier in the month.

Less fixed periods

Generally speaking, sales periods are expected, but not as much as before. “With e-commerce, sales periods as we knew them are much less strict and less present. They are regulated for traditional commerce, but from the moment multinationals like Amazon operate everywhere, they are no longer subject to these dates at all. There are more promotional periods and especially online.” It is also a complicated competition for traditional commerce, whose sales dates are regulated, and price reductions difficult to follow. In the case of Black Friday, it is not considered as a period of balance, therefore not regulated as such.

And in addition to this struggle between physical and online brands, e-commerce is sometimes biting its tail. “Competition within the Internet is also tough, as you are just one click away from all your competitors. If they all do Black Friday, you almost have to do it, because otherwise you're not going to sell anything.”