The proportion of sales on Black Friday against the rest of November fell from 10.17% in 2017 to 9.62% in 2018, while the Saturday and Sunday after Black Friday saw the biggest year-on-year growth in sales for that week.
data compiled by www.awin.com, which itself tracked one in every 25 online sales that took place on Black Friday 2018, has been released this week by the global affiliate network. The team analysed the number of sales made on Black Friday in 2017 compared with 2018, in a bid to determine what proportion of the whole of November’s sales the globally known day was responsible for.
The number of sales driven on Black Friday in 2017 was 10.17%, falling to 9.62% in 2018, suggesting a slight fall in the importance of the day to retailers, compared to the rest of the month.
Additionally, it was found that the proportion of November sales compared to the rest of the year decreased from 12.4% in 2017, to 11.93% in 2018, although this was still well above the monthly average of 8.34% across the year.
Regarding the year-on-year growth in sales for the week surrounding Black Friday, the research found that the subsequent Saturday experienced the biggest growth (22%), followed by the Sunday (17%), compared to the relatively small increase on the Friday itself (12%).
Commenting on the findings, Ian Charlesworth, UK Country Manager at www.awin.com, says: “Having followed Black Friday closely for a number of years now, it is clear the importance of the actual day is decreasing to retailers. Black Friday is now becoming synonymous with an extended discounting period with “Black Friday Sales” often several days or even weeks before the actual day.”
He concludes: “What this means for consumers is that there is less urgency to make purchases on the Friday itself, resulting in more considered purchases. Where before we would see people logging on and making purchases on the stroke of midnight on Thursday as the virtual doors opened for the rush of clicks, it is now a slightly more relaxed and even strategic approach to getting the best deals over this special discounting event.”
