How Consumers are Adjusting Shopping Habits for Black Friday 2021

 

Commentary:

Black Friday is fast approaching, and lingering on every retailers’ mind is the impact that COVID’s retail closures, supply chain disruptions, and acceleration of ecommerce adoption will have on the outcome of holiday deals and shopping habits. A deciding factor will be how consumers engage with the retail industry’s various sales channels.

With at-scale on-demand delivery, new ecommerce marketplaces, and every brand under the sun running a more robust omnichannel approach than before, will these compounding trends significantly impact how consumers shop during Black Friday? How have consumer habits changed over the last two years and how should online retailers, specifically, adjust? We sourced mass retail expert with Growth Spurt Sales & Marketing, Jennifer Kaylo Ruscin, for some quick analysis on where she sees shifts in shopping habits, and how she’s advising consumers to make the most of lingering disruptions to the Black Friday experience.

Abridged Thoughts:

The first thing I would say is heading into COVID, Black Friday was still Black Friday. People expected to go into stores to find amazing deals, to fight with each other and create a bit of excitement and maybe perhaps havoc at store level as they race to purchase everything that they wanted. Now we started to see some shifts to online shopping habits back in 2019 and then everything changed during COVID. So last year we saw a huge, tremendous shift to pretty much online, exclusive purchases for Black Friday. So much to the point that vendors were running out of inventory, that shoppers couldn’t find anything. P.S., similar story is going to happen this year. And so as we jump to this year, what I’m seeing is because of the issues that we’re having bringing products into port and because of already the limited amount of inventory on shelf, we’re hearing already that toys are going to be an issue to be found in stores. Some tips that I would have this year. If you’re a shopper is, number one, shop, early. Shop early, early, early, early. Start now. I felt this transition as we were moving into Christmas already in November that we were moving from Halloween to Christmas and in-store, instead of feeling irritated like I typically do, like, “why are we already like playing Christmas music and why are we already seeing sales and Black Friday deals on November 1st?” You guys, it’s because if we don’t shop early, there won’t be anything left. So definitely feeling that sense of urgency. And number two, think experiences and outside of the box if you run out of inventory or if you’re running out of things to purchase for your family and your loved ones. I’m really encouraging everybody to think about purchasing locally, thinking about an experience like take people to Topgolf, go bungee jumping or skydiving, or plan a camping trip. I know none of these things are retail related, but when we all walk around and we’re looking at shelves in Q4 and we find that there’s nothing left, think outside the box.

More Like This Story:

As Holiday Demand Increases, How Should Retailers Prepare for a Holiday Surge?

One Company Wants to Fix How eCommerce is Built

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

future-ready workforce
Building a Future-Ready Workforce: Disrupting Outdated Education with Employer-Driven, Community-Powered, Practical Skills Training
July 28, 2025

Workforce training is undergoing a radical transformation as industries face critical talent shortages and rapid technological change. Building a future-ready workforce requires rethinking traditional higher education models. These models emphasize broad academic development over targeted skill-building and struggle to keep pace with employer demands. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report…

Read More
The Silent Health Crisis: Indoor Air Quality in Long-Term Care
July 28, 2025

The Silent Health Crisis: Indoor Air Quality in Long-Term Care Most nursing homes have infection control down to a science. They’ve got medication protocols that would make a hospital jealous. Fall prevention? They track every risk factor. But ask them about their air quality and you’ll likely get a puzzled look. That’s a problem, because…

Read More
educators
JUST THINKING… About Bringing out the Best in Educators and Learners with Ross Kimball
July 25, 2025

As the educational landscape rapidly evolves—shaped by advances in communication technology, growing mental health awareness, and post-pandemic classroom dynamics—one key question persists: How can we better connect with and empower both educators and students in the classroom? The stakes are high: studies show that teacher-student relationships directly impact student motivation, academic success, and long-term…

Read More
community
Bringing Community into the Transformation of K-12 Schools: The Impact of Mentors, Local Voices, and Student Entrepreneurs
July 24, 2025

As K-12 schools across the U.S. struggle to recover from the learning loss and emotional fallout of the pandemic, a deeper reckoning is underway—one that challenges the very foundation of who’s responsible for educating our children. Despite billions in federal relief, a third of U.S. students are not even reading at a basic level…

Read More