[Infographic] 6 Reasons Retailers Should Avoid Black Friday

Black Friday simply isn’t what it used to be for many retail brands.

Online businesses are being squeezed by giants like Amazon, while brick and mortar stores are seeing their quietest Black Fridays ever with mass migration to ecommerce.

Consumers have been conditioned to expect discounted sales 365 days a year, meaning standard deals on Black Friday are no longer enough. And leaving retailers having to slash prices just to keep up.

Not convinced? Here’s an infographic we put together covering six reasons you might want to think twice about Black Friday:

So what to do instead?

There’s obviously a huge amount of hype about Black Friday in the retail sector. And so not joining the party with heavy discounts can be a nerve racking decision.

But doing things a little differently can be a great way to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few ideas for how you can do that:

1) Make a point of dumping Black Friday

The madness of Black Friday riots and stampedes have given it a bad reputation in many circles. Leading to some retailers avoiding the hype altogether.

Outdoor clothing brand REI have gained a lot of attention with their anti-Black Friday philosophy. Instead, they give employees time off and roll out their #optoutside campaign:

This public decision caused a ton of media coverage, which in turn strengthened their brand image. They also announced record revenue in 2015 of $2.4 billion – a 9.3% increase over the previous year with membership growing by 1 million.

2) Strengthen customer relationships

Black Friday is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the relationship with your current customers instead of making it all about finding new ones – if it’s done right.

If you have a loyalty program, it’s a great time to remind your customers of this. Encourage people to sign up and then offer exclusive deals and rewards especially for Black Friday – showing you really care about people who’ve shopped with you before.

If not, it’s a good time to launch one. Or simply keep your discounts specially for people who interact with your emails or social accounts.

3) Offer more than just discounts

Take the opportunity to really go full throttle on providing a great experience.

Do something extra in-store, or even try setting up a pop-up store to really engage with your loyal fans. Something as basic as offering free refreshments or a gift wrapping service can go a long way, but also fun activities like an offer orientated treasure hunt.

Doing things like this right will see you become more than just a standard ‘Black Friday discounter’. And help you stand out from the crowd by doing something different.

How important is Black Friday to your sales? Do you bank on it every year, or try to get past it as quietly as possible? Let us know in the comments below.