Is Black Friday a Zero-sum Game?

Who are the real winners on Black Friday?

The following statistics are based on our own data pulled from a broad spectrum of our clients across different industries.

Website Traffic:

• Traffic doesn’t peak on the actual day of Black Friday.
• The traffic starts increasing the day before Black Friday when people are coming home from work.
• Around 7.00 PM the traffic is approximately 3X higher than on any other day.
• Afterwards, traffic drops before taking off at midnight when the sales become available.
• Black Friday traffic is on avg. 2X higher than on any other day of the year.

Order and Basket:

• 7X increase in orders occur on Black Friday.
• Average Basket Size is 3,2 items on Black Friday vs. 4,0 items on a daily average = 20% less Basket Size.
• Average Order Value 48€ on Black Friday vs. 56€ on any other day = 14% less Order Value.
• Total revenue 6X higher on Black Friday than on average.

Customers:

• 6X increase in unique customers on Black Friday.
• Customers split their budget between stores almost equally.

Black Friday is a Zero-Sum Game

Who are the real winners on Black Friday? From what we see, it is a zero-sum game. From our data research, we have seen a decrease in Order Value and Basket Size, which, in the end, makes a lower contribution margin. The spike in traffic occurs the day before could be the results of customers browsing for the best offers the day before. Which means that most customers are predetermined on what and where to make their purchases.