Crisis Management: ‘Black Friday is diminished in importance’

Black Friday is typically the time of year when consumers wait in long lines, sometimes stampeding through big box retailers in order to get their hands on the best deals.

But Black Friday is expected to be different this year, thank to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first time ever, more consumers plan on shopping online than in brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Deloitte survey. A survey conducted by Shopify found that half of Canadians plan on shopping over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, spending more than they did in previous years.

The shopping event is also a critical time for many small businesses. The Retail Council of Canada estimates that 40 per cent of small business revenues fall in this holiday shopping period, which includes Black Friday.

So what should businesses be doing to make sure they are able to capitalize on the event? Strategy expert Mark Satov outlines his advice, and why Black Friday is not as important these days for big box retailers.