Everything You Need To Know About Black Friday 2020

With just about everything being different in 2020, Black Friday will be no exception. So, with just over 2 weeks before the biggest shopping day of the year, here’s everything you need to know. First off, Black Friday and holiday shopping, in general, is going to look different this year. Expect earlier Black Friday sales to have a much bigger focus on online shopping. 2020 is going to be a “game-changer” for shoppers as well as for small business owners.

Is Black Friday canceled?

As unpredictable and crazy as 2020 has been some have wondered whether Black Friday was canceled. The answer to that is a resounding no! What will be different is that many retailers are announcing deals early, throwing multiple (or month-long) Black Friday events, and tailoring this shopping event to fit 2020. See retailers’ specific plans here.

When is Black Friday?

You can’t take advantage of the deals unless you know when Black Friday is. Black Friday is always the day after Thanksgiving, which means the Biggest Shopping Day of the Year will be on Nov. 27 in 2020.

Remember, holidays savings often start well before Black Friday (and 2020 will be no different). In previous years, many Black Friday sales actually started on Thanksgiving (or even before) and extended into the weekend and Cyber Week. It’s safe to say given the pandemic we’ve already seen deals start already.

Ship Items Early

Due to the Coronavirus, it’s expected that the USPS, FedEx, and UPS, and others, will be inundated with unheard-of levels of mail to ship this holiday season. So, it’s important to get things out early so your packages arrive on time. To help here are deadlines provided by carriers that will help you plan out your shipments. As many as 700 million gifts may arrive late this holiday season, according to retail analysts who foresee extra demands on shipping companies.  Shipping struggles have become more apparent with rising pandemic-era eCommerce volume. A new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey found that 43% of U.S. consumers plan to wait until November to start their holiday shopping this year, and 59% plan to shop more online.

What to Expect

Here’s what we expect to see this holiday shopping season:

• “Social distancing” has been the term of the year, which means that retailers won’t be encouraging people to flock to their stores this year. While there will be in-store sales, we predict that more retailers will encourage people to do their shopping online. This means we’ll see more cyber deals for Black Friday. This is likely fine with approximately 45% of shoppers who don’t feel safe shopping in stores this year.
• Retailers will start their Black Friday sales earlier than ever before in 2020. And we aren’t just talking about offering Black Friday savings on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. Many shopping destinations are featuring Black Friday-style savings events that will run for the entire month of November.
• More stores will follow the trend of keeping their doors closed on Thanksgiving Day. Some of the big names on this list include Bath & Body Works, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, GameStop, Home Depot, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Office Depot/OfficeMax, REI, Sam’s Club, Target, Ulta and Walmart.

One final Black Friday trend that we expect to see in 2020 is sales that extend well into Cyber Monday. While some doorbusters (including online “doorbusters”) will be available only for a limited time, many other bargains will be around for the entire weekend. Happy shopping and stay safe!