So, Black Friday....
11 December 2017
Black Friday was a while ago now, but it's always worth a look in terms of who did what, especially when the quarterly results come in and we can adjudicate how many sales were actually lower margin... Black Friday feels like it should be an online thing in the UK really.... Amazon have driven this hard and it's astonishing that the UK retailers continue to turn this event in to a reality, essentially lowering margins for no discernible reason in November.
A little bit like online food, have to be in it, to win it...
This year saw Morrisons enter the arena for Black Friday (Five Days) with more deals after their popular campaign in 2016.
Morrisons were also pushing Giant Toblerone at a mere £57, which prompted a response from Poundland who pointed out you could spend £30 with them for an equivalent size.
The intriguing element was that Morrisons chased a number of big ticket items that were 'giant' in their size, £70 bottles of 3l Spirits for example.
These are clever novelty purchases for raffles ordinarily, however with the backdrop of consumer confidence weakening and the uncertainty of Brexit and all that brings with it.... Some items were perhaps a step too far.
The core offer with the £10 Perfume and Health/Beauty sets were strong and traded well, however the larger items were still around post the event, showing that Black Friday is useful for some lines and products.
With Black Friday events being about big deals and products customers may not generally purchase... The giant Toblerone and other 'big' lines are not necessarily aligned with this event. Whereas Morrisons, not renowned for Perfume, Make up sets and Toys can use the event well to drive trade to these additional lines.
Morrisons did run their fuel offer once again, 10p off a litre on a £50 spend which boosts spending towards Christmas, always valuable and with fuel prices rising slowly, any money off fuel is good for footfall.
Morrisons also focused on areas of strength where Morrison have real ability, such as Produce, 50p Melons are also good to drive footfall and entice customers in to the store.
The overall aim is to drive spend upwards, not just have everyone piling in to but the promotional stock and nothing else. With the fuel deal, the hope is that the customer will spend £50, then return to the store (Petrol Station) and fill up later.
Sainsbury's were active for Black Friday with a number of ends dedicated to Electricals and non food, reflecting their focus once again within the non food arena.
The hybrid stores that feature Argos could have potentially confused as they ran Black Friday deals too, which brought two chains, owned by the same group competing for sales on similar products.
However the point around Argos being a click / collect business is fair, with customers more likely to buy online then pop to the larger store to pick up their items.
Sainsbury's were pushing headphones and Televisions (front of store which is rare for them) although signage was non existent here. Very disappointing execution as no one will look right down at the bottom for a tiny label showing the price.
The in store Argos (a matter of yards from those displays) had their event well advertised with signage everywhere and the digital screens flagging various lines, including those from their foe - Amazon....
The Black Friday package for Argos was strong and it makes sense with their standalone shops to make a big deal for the event, but where the stores are within Sainsbury's... It can run the risk of conflicting...
However beyond the weekend of deals in Sainsbury's, another 11 days worth of deals were available at Argos.... Whilst there's no issue with this, it just shows how far Black Friday is going, from a day, to a weekend, to the dreaded (well, what does it all mean?) "Cyber Monday".
Given the Argos overlap, it makes sense for them to be in Black Friday given the spending they can attract, equally from rivals such as Tesco. Sainsbury's will be hoping for a boon from the added footfall for any in store pick ups....
What it doesn't quite make clear, is why Sainsbury's enter the arena....
In other Black Friday news; Lidl were in the mix with a few deals dotted around the store. They are no stranger to short term deals, given their activity on the weekend specials.
Unlikely to make a material difference either way, customers are not going to abandon Lidl because they didn't do Black Friday, equally customers are not going to beat their door down for any deals....
Aldi didn't really get materially involved, save for their Serrano Ham leg that appeared in the special buys again.
Whilst Tesco haven't seen their stores return to that 'war' of some years ago with customers fighting over low priced TV's, they have always kept their eye in with Black Friday under Dave Lewis.
The event becomes part of the wider plan for November and boosts footfall and indeed, spending on Electricals and Tesco will hope it diverts spending from Amazon and other rivals... Argos particularly...
Their focus was in Electricals with some pallet displays and a small amount of seasonal space given over to the range too. The signage in the doorway pointed to numerous price cuts around the range.
Lego was also noted in the Black Friday event, interesting that big brands were lending their name to the event at large, especially Lego.
Tesco added other brands to their stable of Black Friday deals this year, with Tesco Mobile utilising the event for a mere two weeks...
With Clothing also included, some categories were up to 50% down in price over the Black Friday weekend.
It's likely this was tactical, and potentially added at a later stage than anticipated. Sainsbury's have always run their 25% off Tu Clothing event at set times in the year, so within the 6 week holidays for a week or so, then another period near the October half term to shift Halloween costumes.
However Sainsbury's have then run the 25% off event beyond that, with a week added around Black Friday and a 4 day stretch over a weekend in November too.
So Tesco running an F&F event is notable, perhaps to not lose out to Sainsbury's but also boost sales on F&F clothing ahead of Christmas.
Asda have backed away from Black Friday, despite being the first to bring it to the UK, taking all the pressure from the press at large with scenes of near riots and fights over a generic television with £50 off...
They really did the spade work and then backed away, as they refocused on other areas. Fair enough? It feels a zero sum game and Asda, if they are serious about lower prices and longer term value probably view Black Friday as unsustainable.
However, despite this, they did have some limited time offers in Clothing around the Black Friday event. 25% off Knitwear and Women's Boots also benefitted from a saving.
The ready reckoner was out around the category, showing customers how much they'll save on various lines with the offer. A worthwhile category to cut in price given the activity elsewhere in the market, especially with Sainsbury's using 25% off Tu Clothing as a near form of vouchering given the number of times the deal has run.
So there's Black Friday, some two weeks previous but always worthy of some analysis given the importance of the event in the retail calendar within the UK.
Online really win here, but physical stores find themselves having to get involved given that everyone else is doing something too.
Waitrose didn't do anything for Black Friday in stores, but John Lewis always have a major presence which boosts footfall to Waitrose for all the click / collect parcels of course!
Sainsbury's are hoping for the same secondary mission with Argos, especially around Black Friday. The event is here to stay it seems, but it's unlikely you'll find a £57 Toblerone around the market in 2018.....
From the Grocery Insight newsletter archive, first sent to subscribers on 11 December 2017. Steve now writes at read.groceryinsight.com. See also the blog archive and briefings.