Should retailers do Black Friday?
There does appear to be a one-dimensional approach by most retailers to Black Friday. It is often used to clear old stock rather than an invitation to act creatively in response to the opportunity.
The latest Daily Maverick piece explores the question.
Black Friday benefits are tenuous, even for the big retailers
Large retail systems are, by design, optimised to accommodate a steady flow of appropriately behaved customers. Sharp spikes in customer demand, like during Black Friday, put unmanageable amounts of stress on these systems and the people who operate them.
Jon Cherry
Taking a big step back what's become quite clear is that the dominant mindset leading retail these days is significantly skewed towards 'accounting success' as opposed to 'marketing success'.
Great strategic marketers have clearly lost their seat at the retail table and in their place are the bean counters. Bean counters however run companies looking backwards not forwards.
Opportunity? Oh yes.
Our other media interviews on the topic:
Black Friday frenzy: Do the benefits for retailers really outweigh the negatives?
Business strategist Jon Cherry argues that the benefits of Black Friday season are tenuous, even for the big players.
Paula Luckhoff