Black Friday: The pros and cons for CBD retailers

As Black Friday approaches, The C-Word cannabis marketing experts explain how the holiday could affect canna-retailers.

We felt it was a good opportunity to explore the value of this seasonal shopping extravaganza from a retail perspective.

In this article, we will take a look at what Black Friday is, before delving into the pros and cons of this event for businesses, and how to approach it.

What is Black Friday?

The phrase ‘Black Friday’ can be traced back to the early 1960s, originally used by Philadelphia police to refer to very heavy traffic. In later years it then became used to refer to one of the biggest and busiest sale days of the year, occurring on the first Friday that follows Thanksgiving. It has come to be recognised as the beginning of the festive shopping season for Christmas.

Black Friday is known for being a day of bargains, with retailers offering huge discounts on a wide range of products. This has historically bred an environment that sometimes results in hysteria among shoppers. Since 2006, there have been 11 deaths and 108 injuries recorded in the US as a result of out of control Black Friday customer behaviour. Circumventing this is one of the many advantages of online shopping.

What are the pros of Black Friday?

So, why would a CBD retailer offer Black Friday deals? There are a few reasons that businesses might want to opt into this event:

Major sales spike: the increased sales from this day alone can hugely boost the balance sheet.

Stock clearance: using Black Friday to heavily discount items you want to shift to make way for newer products for the Christmas rush.

Competition: keeping the loyalty of regular customers on this day or acquiring new customers that may hopefully lead to repeat purchases later on in the year.

Traffic boost: offering Black Friday deals can result in a significant boost to traffic to your website

What are the cons of Black Friday?

With some strong benefits of Black Friday participation, why might some CBD retailers decide not to get involved? These could be:

Discount pressure: large businesses are often in a strong enough position to offer huge discounts, whereas smaller companies might not be able to but feel they should as a result of expectations.

Profit margins: offering large discounts might negatively impact a smaller business’ profit margins.

Purchase regrets and returns: in the discount mayhem, customers may purchase items they then later regret and return, potentially outside of the Christmas shopping window.

Eco-awareness: as more customers and businesses strive for sustainability, eco-awareness, and conscious consumerism, Black Friday doesn’t quite align with this trend.

 A Few Approaches to Black Friday

Just miss it out altogether: some smaller businesses have come to the conclusion that it simply isn’t worth it for their businesses, so opt to just close for that day (and Cyber Monday too in some cases). Some companies even give their employees a paid holiday or choose to get involved in community projects.

Don’t go overboard: analyse your products and services and only offer discounts where it really works for your business.

Offer existing customer rewards: you could try a more unconventional approach of just offering rewards, discounts, or points to your existing customers as a treat for their loyalty to your brand.

New customer bait: offer just a few tactical discounts on highly searched for or popular products to appeal to a new customer base.

 How Can We Help You With Black Friday?

One of the major aspects of choosing how you approach Black Friday is figuring out if it is worth it or not for your business. Our expert team here at The C-Word can use their extensive experience to help you ascertain this.

If you would like to find out more about how our services can help your online business, click here. Alternatively, you can contact us here or send us an email at sayhello@c-word-mktg.co.uk. 

We look forward to hearing from you and helping your cannabis-based business thrive.