Black Friday starting early

[Cinnamonjar]

I've already received a few emails from companies whose mailing lists I'm on. Someone's having a Black Friday month, and others seem to constantly be having mid-season sales.

Are they becoming more desperate for sales because people have cut down on spending?

Are they trying to spread out their workload throughout November so that it doesn't bunch up over one weekend?

Are they trying to sell as much stuff as possible now, because there'll be Royal Mail strikes across the end of November?

I think that loads of companies have destroyed their own ability to sell anything full price tbh. Who would buy without a discount when you know they are coming? So they discount earlier to allow them to not have a stock/packing meltdown on black friday.
I just wish things were a reasonable fixed cost and prefer to shop with companies that don't do variable pricing as I am so pissed off when it is cheaper next week!

Black Friday is traditionally the Friday after Thanksgiving Thursday in America. Lots of Americans have the day of work and with Thanksgiving done, it feels like the start of the Christmas season.

When it first came to the UK, I just thought how ridiculous as we don't have Thanksgiving, that Friday is like any other. It's just companies desperate to cash in and sell more in any way.

Now that it is becoming more common to see Black Friday sales way before the actual day or a Black Friday month, it just smacks of desperation. And it's nonsensical. Like starting the January sales in November. It makes me think companies who do this legally have overpriced goods in general.

Not sure where the 'legally' came from in my previous sentence.

I know right? Boden have particularly been doing this for years. They seem quite expensive at first but they almost always have discount codes available.

Regarding companies with reasonable fixed costs, I know what you mean, but those companies are probably under huge amounts of consumer pressure to do sales and discounts and they probably have to be very strong to not give in. I sometimes wonder if those companies see an increase in sales over Black Friday because people were going to buy stuff anyway? If they're independent designers, I mean, not if they sell stuff that you can buy elsewhere.

Also I recently joined Vinted, and I read a lot of advice that said to price things slightly above what you'd actually accept, because people will send you offers. Everyone wants a discount. Everyone always wants to feel like they've got a bargain.

Or that they have paid a fixed unmovable price that represents value.
I run a small business where we provide a service. The fee is costed at a 50% profit and NEVER changed. No discounts, no bargains, no bulk discount, no cash discount. Fixed. People are very happy with this and we have no problems.

A similar place has just shut, her manager told me she thought it was due to deep discounts to bring customers in after covid, which were unsustainable but 'reset' her product as being worth less, in the consumers eyes.

I think it's a huge mistake. And it pisses off your good, loyal customers.

@HelenWick I totally agree, but I just meant that the companies who do this must be under a lot of pressure to take part in sales and discounts. Don't you ever receive enquiries where people ask you if you'll be having a sale etc? Even if the answer's no, surely you feel the pressure of people's expectations?

Last few years 'black Friday' has just become a general sale

It's nothing special anymore

Constantly. I just say no, never. And assured them that they'll never access what we do a penny cheaper. They often go to rivals, bounce around and end up back with us. We're 30years old and always fully booked.
I enjoy saying no to them 😂

Thank you, this has really thrown me. I've got so many invites to black friday sales, just when I'd got my head around this seemingly random date at the end of November it's now some generic term for an autumn sale.

I’ve noticed in the last few months that Liz Earle keeps having sales and discounts of one type or another. I’ve wondered if they are struggling. Plus they changed the size of some products and put the price up by stealth.

That's the thing, everyone's putting their prices up and then they have more and more sales.

It's because it increases sales. Very simple. And yes some (a lot) of companies are really struggling because consumers are spending less; certainly on nice to haves and little luxuries.

I work in advertising, have lots of retail clients.

A website I use regularly are spreading their blackfriday deals over the month to avoid the postal strikes planned for black Friday weekend