PERMANENT BLACK FRIDAY: THE NEW RETAILING REALITY.

Maybe you’ve noticed. It’s Black Friday all the time, now. It used to be that Black Friday was held on, well a Friday, to be quickly followed by Cyber Monday. But no more. We now live in a retail environment where it’s permanent Black Friday, forever. And this phenomenon, of course, also extends to e-commerce. The specific name of the day of the week has become irrelevant. It all melds into one big massive “Sale!” fest.

So, what happened? In the immortal words of the Talking Heads: “How did I/we get here?” And more importantly, how good is this for marketers, retailers and consumers, in the end?

There’s no doubt that – let’s call it “Black Friday All The Time” – creates a constant sense of urgency in the minds of customers. But, as their synapses fire up with the thought of perpetual bargains, are they reaching for their smartphones or credit cards? Or does “Black Friday All the Time” end up diluting the appeal of the “Sale!” word emotional trigger?