Big Sale Days
are big sale days sustainable?
Let’s dive into the history behind some of these sales and their impact on the world around us now
history of big sales
Many people will know of Black Friday - a ‘day’ of sales that originated in America but has made its way to many countries. But what about Boxing Day, and Cyber Monday?
Big sales days like this were made by corporations and only serve those big corporations. Small businesses get hit financially because margins are so much smaller with some checking with customers on social media to say they don’t want to take part but hope they won’t lose their clients. Personally, I don’t care about Black Friday sales, and search for items or buy from those smaller businesses because I love their products, quality and ethos. So I am happy to support them sale or no sale.
Black Friday can be the time many people Christmas shop, or replace big items they need due to breakage or age. Let’s also be mindful that some people shop at this time because it is the only time they may be able to afford a particular item. While it isn’t a recognised official US holiday, many companies give their employees this day off.
Now, what if I said the US Black Friday was the equivalent of the UK Boxing Day (26th December), which is “celebrated” in commonwealth countries. And Cyber Monday was created by retailers in November 2005 as the internet shopping version of Black Friday.
Everything about these days is aimed at getting us to spend our hard earned cash on deals. But are the deals as good as they seem? And is shopping like this sustainable for us and our planet?
Black Friday
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Despite a rumour that Black Friday got its name from shoppers spending enough on that day to put shops from the red to black, it actually had a far more sinister start.
In 1869 plummeting gold prices caused a market crash which impacted the US economy for years. 24th September 1869 was dubbed “Black Friday” as the craze for gold had reached fever pitch. Inflated gold prices plunged and the stock market dropped 20 percentage points. Many people were left financially ruined and farmers saw the value of their wheat and corn harvest drop by 50 percent! You can read more HERE
In the 1950s or 60s, Black Friday was used more inline with how we associate it today, and was used by traffic police in Philadelphia who dreaded the day after Thanksgiving:
“The Philadelphia Police Department used the term to describe the traffic jams and intense crowding of the downtown retail stores,” said David Zyla, an Emmy-winning stylist and author of “How to Win at Shopping.”
Unsurprisingly initially retailers didn’t like the ‘gloomy’ sound of Black Friday, so tried to put a positive spin on it and call it “Big Friday”. As we know, that didn’t stick. However most people associate the sales advertised in black positively so it worked in some extent.
“Retailers have little concern today with the origin of the name but have taken full advantage of its global recognition as a day (along with Cyber Monday) to make a significant portion of their yearly sales with one-day-only and doorbuster promotions,” Zyla said. Online sales alone during Black Friday 2019 reached a record $7.2 billion, up 14% from the previous year.”
Ultimately, while this day seems great for consumers, it is definitely a big win for retailers. It represents American consumerism in one moment - people queue for hours, even overnight, to ensure they are first in the doors to get the sales they want, picking up items they don’t necessarily need (hello impulsive purchase), simply because it is on sale. There have even been deaths as a result of the violence and frenzy caused - 14 in fact, and 117 listed injuries. Find out more HERE
In 2020, 186.4 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend (including Cyber Monday). And in the UK, consumers are predicted to spend £7bn this year. But people regretted some of their purchases and in 2018 the cost of returns in the UK after these sales was about £362m. According to a report compiled by Adobe, five of the busiest shopping days of the year occur between 21st - 26th November.
Note to self though. Amazon, a big hitter when it comes to Black Friday deals, is known to have one of the largest carbon footprints of any business, and emitted 51.17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year.
And if you want to look into whether the deals are even bargains, check out these articles:
And if you are shopping this Black Friday, be vigilant against scammers. In 2020 online crime defrauded shoppers by £2.5m.
Boxing Day
Boxing Day falls on 26th December every year (the day after Christmas) and is associated with the UK and other commonwealth countries. It was officially recognised as a holiday in 1871.
Despite sounding like we should all don our gloves, meet at dawn and have fisticuffs in a a boxing ring, the name “Boxing Day” potentially derives from when wealthier people would box gifts for the poor during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 1800s. It was also traditionally a day off for servants and they would receive these boxes and take them home to their families.
Churches would also hold collections on Christmas Day and hand this money out to the poor the next day. In fact it is referred to as St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland.
While Boxing Day is usually a time to spend with friends and family (it is a day I would traditionally spend with my cousins), it is also known for football and sales. Similar to Black Friday, people will spend hours queuing up to find deals or even return unwanted Christmas gifts (according to a Finder.com survey of 2,009 British adults, 1 in 10 of us deliberately buy a gift for someone we know they won’t like). This began around 1980s.
Fox hunting and horse racing used to happen on Boxing Day as well but thankfully fox hunting was banned in 2004.
Due to the increase in popularity of Black Friday, Boxing Day shopping has dipped in more recent years. In 2009 about 12 million people visited the shops on Boxing Day. Last year, 2020, retail insights agency Springboard said Boxing Day footfall in the UK was down 57% compared with 2019. Covid may have had an impact on this but according to “Barclaycard, £2.7 billion was spent by UK shoppers on Boxing Day 2020 - averaging out at people spending about £162 online. But that figure is down from 2019, when £3.7bn was spent (averaging £186 per shopper)”.
According to Springboard, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday becoming more of a shopping calendar fixture, Boxing Day footfall had declined in 2019 by 10.6% in comparison to 2018 figures.
So instead it is more associated as a day to eat up leftovers like bubble and squeak, turkey sandwiches and Christmas cake.
Cyber Monday
The internet’s version of Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving. Coined by Ellen Davis, senior vice president of research and strategic initiatives for the National Retail Federation, and Scott Silverman when the NRF noticed a recurring spike in online revenue traffic on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
It gives you another opportunity to save on tech, electronic goods, home items etc and is one of the most important days for online retailers to take advantage of.
It started in 2005 and by 2006 sales were just under $610 million - a 25% increase from 2005. By 2013 this jumped to $1.8 billion and in 2020, Americans spent over $9 billion on Cyber Monday.
Interestingly, a study by Gigaom shows that Black Friday in person sales has an environmental impact 50 times that of Cyber Monday. Find out more HERE
Green / Colour Friday
Green Friday and Colour Friday are newer terms for Black Friday.l It is called this by smaller / local businesses who are trying to promote shopping for less, and only buying what you need. It grew from an idea in 2015 as a way to encourage people to shop more sustainably and mindfully. Adbusters mentions “Buy Nothing Day” which started in 1992 in Canada as an anti-Black Friday movement has now evolved into Green Friday / Colour Friday.
Interestingly, if you search online for “Green Friday” you will also get hits for Green Wednesday and Green Monday.
Also interestingly, some parks promote Green Friday as a day to swap shopping for outdoor experiences.
This shows a change in mindset to fight against needless consumerism. People are also advocating for making homemade and second hand gifts more acceptable.
After all, Christmas isn’t about the gifts we get. In fact:
Brits spend about £380 per year on presents but a total of £1,116 for the festive period
Consumers spend more than $5mil on pets over the festive period
Money Advice survey revealed each person gets presents with an average value of £54 that are unused and goes to waste each year
Britons are said to receive a total of 81 million unwanted presents annually, with each household receiving three on average
Americans are said to have spent $15.2bil on unwanted gifts
Conclusion
Without even going into the emissions from these shoping dates - from driving around to shipping to production to where they will end up at the end of life - there are a few questions I would recommend people ask before making any purchases during sales.
Do you really need it? A way to work this out is to add things you think of to a list and come back to them vs immediately buying them. If in a month you still need it, then that is a good indicator
What will having this item solve for you?
Can you support a small business instead?
Is it possible to ask for as a gift? That way people will be less likely to buy you something you don’t need or want
Can you make it yourself, or get it second hand? We need to normalise this as gift ideas and as ways for us to live, to reduce the strain on our planet from a resource and emission overload
If you have any other suggestions, please get in touch - I would love to know your tricks to navigating sales and buying gifts. Also check out my 12 Days of Christmas pages for some suggestions on how to reduce waste around this time of year!