Taylor Rouse
Mrs. Straub
AP Economics
Black Friday VS Cyber Monday
Black Friday is the most popular shopping day of the whole year followed by Cyber Monday. However, the popularity of Cyber Monday has grown immensely. Cyber monday has only been around for 11 years and has grown to become one of the most popular shopping days of the year. According to forbs.com “Cyber Monday sales grew 12% from 2014-2015 and Black Friday only grew 10% from 2014-2015.” In addition “Thanksgiving weekend, up from 151 million shoppers in 2015. NRF's annual Thanksgiving weekend survey conducted by Prosper Insights found that 44 percent went online and 40 percent shopped in-store”(Thanksgiving). People feel that Cyber Monday has way more pros than Black Friday and are starting to switch to online shopping.
The economic background of both these days are very interesting. In the short term there is an overall economic growth during this time of the year. The term Black Friday has been around ever since the 1960’s. According to Black Friday History “‘Black’ refers to stores moving from the “red” to the ‘black,’ back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Retailers saw an opportunity to draw in the huge crowds by participating in Black Friday. Another way retailers drew in customers was creating online sales. The term Cyber Monday has been around since 2005. The name was created by National Retail Federation to create a catchy name for online retailers to promote their deals following Black Friday. 
Nowadays people are switching from traditional Black Friday shopping to online shopping. Cyber monday creates a more convenient shopping experience for customers. This is because websites are more convenient than stores, more deals and promotions are found online, and more people have mobile devices which makes it easier to shop online. Hot items that sell out quickly are often still available online. The opportunity cost of people would be sitting in the comfort of your own home ordering products online versus standing in long lines next to people who would fight you for a new TV. People also have to make marginal decisions to decide how the next hour of free time is going to be spent. If you're into the adventure and hustle of finding a fast deal, Black Friday is right up your alley, but if you'd rather shops for deals online at the comfort of your own home, then Cyber Monday is more up your alley.
Work Cited
"Cyber Monday Set To Be Largest Shopping Day In History." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"The History of Black Friday." The History of Black Friday. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday. Digital image. AddThis. N.p., n.d. Web
Barr, Alistair. "Cyber Monday Sales Surge to New Record." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 03 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
"Holiday Headquarters." National Retail Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great examples as to how the business world changes constantly to keep up with society's changes and people's newest wants and needs. When Black Friday first started, computers and cell phones were not a part of people's daily lives so Black Friday was the only day to go out and get great deals. Now, technology has changed and we all live in a world where we have to be online 24/7 to keep up with our busy schedules and where time and accessibility are very valuable because we need everything at our fingertips. With the introduction of Cyber Monday and the option for people to shop online at their homes instead of having to go out and fight the crowds fits the tight schedules of everyone in today's society. I definitely can understand how Cyber Monday is becoming more popular and more desirable than Black Friday; everyone loves the convenience of doing things online. I can certainly see Cyber Monday becoming a bigger holiday than Black Friday in years to come.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that Cyber Monday has been around since 2005, I thought it was just started with the big jump in technology in the 2010’s. It’s also cool to see that people are moving away from deadly situations that Black Friday can cause while Cyber Monday or online Black Friday shopping have no disadvantages unless you truly like massive hoards of people at 3 AM instead of getting to sleep in. It is also cool how you added the history of the two because Black Friday is a term that many people definitely do not know the definition or reasoning behind. So a quick history lesson for those not in the know is a very smart and cool thing to add on with the great research on the switching people are doing now. Plus with Cyber Monday you can get those website exclusive items that are found nowhere else, so people who are fans of say, The Walking Dead, may find an exclusive statue only on one site and not sold in any stores. So they definitely want that before going out to find nothing. Another reason why people could be moving is that Black Friday does not affect every item in a store, but Cyber Monday affects every item being sold.
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