Editing Black Friday (shopping) (section)

== Online ==

{{main|Cyber Black Friday}}

=== High traffic challenges for retailers ===

Some online stores invest a lot of money in promotional campaigns to generate more sales and drive traffic to their stores. However, they often forget about the high loads their sites are going to experience. According to Retail Gazette, "A number of major retailers' websites went down as they failed to cope with the surge in Black Friday traffic in 2017{{nbsp}}... This just highlights that some retailers have not taken the necessary steps to prepare for Black Friday. Failing to prepare for peak can cause poor performance, site downtime, and ultimately lost revenue for retailers".<ref name="A number of major retailers' websites went down as they failed to cope with the surge in Black Friday traffic in 2017{{nbsp}}... This just highlights that some retailers have not taken the necessary steps to prepare for Black Friday. Failing to prepare for peak can cause poor performance, site downtime, and ultimately lost revenue for retailers">{{cite news |url=https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2017/11/major-retailers-sites-black-friday-rush-hits/ |title=Major retailers' sites down as Black Friday traffic hits|accessdate=2018-10-17 |date=2017-11-24|publisher=Retailgazette.co.uk}}</ref> Such carelessness results in huge reputational damage. Moreover, The 2017 Veeam Availability Report shows that "Unplanned downtime costs organisations around the world an average of R270m annually, up from the R210m of the previous year".<ref name="Unplanned downtime costs organisations around the world an average of R270m annually, up from the R210m of the previous year">{{cite news |url=https://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/blackfriday-website-crashes-could-cause-massive-damage-to-online-firms-20171123/ |title=#BlackFriday website crashes could cause massive damage to online firms|accessdate=2018-10-17 |date=2017-11-23|publisher=Fin24.com}}</ref>

=== Advertising tip sites ===

Some websites offer information about day-after-Thanksgiving specials up to a month in advance. The text listings of items and prices are usually accompanied by pictures of the actual ad circulars. These are either leaked by insiders or intentionally released by large retailers to give consumers insight and allow them time to plan.

In recent years, some retailers (including [[Walmart]], [[Target Corporation|Target]], [[OfficeMax]], [[Big Lots]], and [[Staples, Inc.|Staples]]) have claimed that the advertisements they send in advance of Black Friday and the prices included in those advertisements are copyrighted and are [[trade secret]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title= Sale fight no fright for area Web site |work= Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail |date= November 26, 2002|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13802620.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040308/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13802620.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2017|via=HighBeam Research|author=Martyn Chase}}</ref>

Some of these retailers have used the [[Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act|take-down system]] of the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]] as a means to remove the offending price listings. This policy may come from the fear that competitors will slash prices, and shoppers may comparison shop. The actual validity of the claim that prices form a protected work of authorship is uncertain as the prices themselves (though not the advertisements) might be considered a fact in which case they would not receive the same level of protection as a copyrighted work.<ref>''[[Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service|Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co.]]'', 499 U.S. 340 (1991).</ref>{{original research inline|date=November 2013}}

The benefit of threatening Internet sites with a DMCA based lawsuit has proved tenuous at best. While some sites have complied with the requests, others have either ignored the threats or simply continued to post the information under the name of a similar-sounding fictional retailer. However, careful timing may mitigate the take-down notice. An [[Internet service provider]] in 2003 brought suit against [[Best Buy]], [[Kohl's]], and [[Target Corporation]], arguing that the take-down notice provisions of the DMCA are unconstitutional. The court dismissed the case, ruling that only the third-party posters of the advertisements, and not the ISP itself, would have [[standing (law)|standing]] to sue the retailers.<ref>''Fatwallet, Inc. v. Best Buy Enterprises Services'', 2004 WL 793548 (N.D.Ill. 2004).</ref>

Usage of Black Friday Advertising Tip sites and buying direct varies by state in the U.S., influenced in large part by differences in shipping costs and whether a state has a sales tax. However, in recent years, the convenience of online shopping has increased the number of cross-border shoppers seeking bargains from outside of the U.S., especially from Canada. Statistics Canada indicates that online cross-border shopping by Canadians has increased by about 300M a year since 2002.<ref name="Statscan">{{cite web |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-010-x/01207/10464-eng.htm|title=Canadian Economic Observer |publisher= Stats Canada |access-date=March 18, 2010}}</ref> The complex nature of additional fees such as taxes, duties and brokerage can make calculating the final cost of cross-border Black Friday deals difficult. Cross-border shopping solutions exist to mitigate the problem through estimation of the various cost involved.

In 2019, Adobe shopping data showed that around 39% of the black Friday shopping was done through [[Smartphone|smartphones]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/01/39-percent-black-friday-purchases-made-with-phones/|title=Nearly 40 percent of online Black Friday purchases were made with phones|website=Engadget|language=en|access-date=2019-12-02}}</ref>

=== Cyber Monday ===

The term ''Cyber Monday'', a [[neologism]] invented in 2005 by the [[National Retail Federation]]'s division Shop.org,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2005/nf20051129_9946_db016.htm |title=Cyber Monday, Marketing Myth |access-date=November 13, 2012 |last=Hof |first=Robert D. |date=November 29, 2005 |work=Business Week |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629055913/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2005/nf20051129_9946_db016.htm |archivedate=June 29, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday based on a trend that retailers began to recognize in 2003 and 2004. Retailers noticed that many consumers, who were too busy to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend or did not find what they were looking for, shopped for bargains online that Monday from home or work. In 2010, Hitwise reported:

{{quote|Thanksgiving weekend offered a strong start, especially as Black Friday sales continued to grow in popularity. For the 2nd consecutive year, Black Friday was the highest day for retail traffic during the holiday season, followed by Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. The highest year-over-year increases in visits took place on Cyber Monday and Black Friday with growth of 16% and 13%, respectively.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/12/retail_traffic_up_throughout_h_1.html | title=Hitwise: Retail traffic up throughout holidays | date=December 28, 2010}}</ref>}}

In 2013, Cyber Monday online sales grew by 18% over the previous year, hitting a record $1.73 billion, with an average order value of $128.<ref name="ComScore Cyber Monday 2013 Spending">{{cite news | url= https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2013/12/Cyber-Monday-Jumps-18-Percent-to-1735-Billion-in-Desktop-Sales-to-Rank-as-Heaviest-US-Online-Spending-Day-in-History | title= Cyber Monday Jumps 18 Percent to $1.73 billion in 2013 | date= November 1, 2015 | work= comscore.com}}</ref>
In 2014, Cyber Monday was the busiest day of the year with sales exceeding $2 billion in desktop online spending, up 17% from the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2014/12/Cyber-Monday-Exceeds-2-Billion-in-Desktop-Sales-for-First-Time-Ever-to-Rank-as-Heaviest-US-Online-Spending-Day-in-History|title=Cyber Monday Exceeds $2 Billion in Desktop Sales for First Time Ever to Rank as Heaviest U.S. Online Spending Day in History|publisher=}}</ref>

=== Cyber Week ===

As reported in the ''[[Forbes]]'' "Entrepreneurs" column on December 3, 2013: "Cyber Monday, the online counterpart to Black Friday, has been gaining unprecedented popularity—to the point where Cyber Sales are continuing on throughout the week."<ref>{{cite news|journal=Forbes|date=December 3, 2013|title=Cyber Week: Crash Prevention Tips|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2013/12/03/cyber-week-crash-prevention-tips/}}</ref> Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor for [[CBS News]], further advises: "If you want a real deal on Black Friday, stay away from the mall. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all part of Cyber Week{{nbsp}}..."<ref>{{cite news |work= The Huffington Post |first= Peter |last= Greenberg|date=November 20, 2013|title=The Ultimate Guide to Cyber Week Travel Deals: Black Friday, Cyber Monday & More|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-greenberg/cyber-week-travel-deals_b_4305593.html }}</ref>