Black Friday Vs. Cyber Monday – Which Performs the Best?

Which shopping holiday performs best: Black Friday or Cyber Monday? These two back-to-back shopping holidays always offer marvellous deals and discounts that leave customers in a frenzy. However, customer behaviour, campaign performance, and timing can lead to a difference in sales.

So which of these two shopping holidays performs best?

The History of Shopping Holidays

Though celebrated only days apart, Black Friday and Cyber Monday origins are wildly different.

Black Friday is a shopping holiday celebrated on the Friday right after Thanksgiving when most of the people have the day off. It started as a day for customers to get a head start on their shopping holiday. Retailers noticed this consumer behaviour and saw it as an opportunity to grow their business.

Cyber Monday, on the other hand, started recently in November 2005 at the time when online shopping was slowly gaining traction. It was the response of online stores to the retail-based Black Friday and the consumer’s behaviour of online shopping during work hours.

Which One Is Performing Better?

Let’s take a look at the Black Friday vs Cyber Monday sales.

Black Friday initially outperformed Cyber Monday in terms of online sales. Back in 2015, while Black Friday online sales reached $2.74 billion, Cyber Monday only reached $2.3 billion online.

However, times change quickly with the emergence of technology. Customers’ desire to stand outside stores for huge deals and discounts have waned. Though a large number of people still line up at a retail store, many turned to online shopping out of convenience. In 2016, Black Friday retail sales fell to $1.2 billion, which is a far cry from the $1.8 billion from 2015 or the $2 billion from 2014.

In 2017, Cyber Monday online sales reached over $6.6 billion, finally surpassing Black Friday’s $1.56 billion online sales with $5.03 billion.

What Does This Mean?

Though a large number of people still go to brick-and-mortar shops, many tend to choose the more convenient shopping option. People no longer want to line up for hours and jostle with frantic holiday shoppers. They are more content to shop through their laptops or mobile devices, even if the deals and discounts aren’t as stellar.

Despite the difference in Black Friday vs Cyber Monday sales, these two shopping holidays still bring in millions in revenue to big and small businesses. Let us know in the comments below what market predictions you have for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday!