Better than Black Friday deals this Christmas
26/11/2024
At this time of year, it can feel impossible to escape Black Friday deals. Brands vying for our attention run ads screaming “more, more, more” and independents feel the pressure to take part to compete – resulting in a snowball effect of discounts and noise. Even this very article is adding to that. If you’re online in any way, it can be overwhelming.
Now, a new Netflix documentary, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is going under the hood of how the biggest brands keep us spending – and the environmental impact many of us don’t connect with holiday shopping behaviours.
Whether you’re new to these concepts, have done your best to avoid mainstream consumerism for the majority of the year or consider yourself a sustainable shopper, the show reminds us of what’s at stake.
At Social Supermarket, we choose not to jump on the Black Friday bandwagon, as it doesn’t chime with our values. We were born from the need to move away from mainstream buying habits towards social enterprises and other impact-led brands – businesses that are actively solving some of the world’s biggest issues like poverty, plastic pollution and more.
So, you won’t find Black Friday deals on our website. And here’s why.
What’s the deal with Black Friday bargains?
Black Friday started in the 1980s as a way for shops in the US to claw back profits before the new year. That’s because they operated “in the red” for most of the year, with the Thanksgiving sale being the first time they went into the black, that is, became profitable. Since then, it’s crossed oceans and become a major international calendar event.
It’s now considered a 4-day event thanks to the addition of “Cyber Monday” – so-named in 2005 by National Retail Federation after they spotted online revenue trending upwards the Monday following Thanksgiving. “They believed it was because people were making purchases from their computers at work, where the Internet connections were faster.”
And what of Black Friday in 2024? “Faster” is perhaps the most meaningful word from this 2005 quote. Fast fashion, the gig economy, on-demand services, mobile phones and social media have become intrinsically linked, underwritten by speed and apparent convenience. Greenmatch reports that Black Friday 2023 was the UK’s most significant online shopping day with sales topping £4.81 billion, up 5% from 2022, but that “80% of items bought during sales end up in landfills, incinerators, or low-quality recycling after just a few uses.”
With Christmas on the snow-sprinkled horizon, Black Friday is perfectly timed to appeal to those shopping for a pocket-friendly Christmas deal. These days, it seems that many mark their calendars and time their shopping with discounting season as a way to afford Christmas in the first place. No wonder really, following the Covid-19 pandemic and years of cost of living crises on personal finances.
That’s not the full picture, though, as Circular Online reports 58% of those who made a purchase borrowed on credit, and a further 8% admitted they ultimately did not need the item.” You’re not alone if you’ve been caught thinking about something you never knew you needed – and probably still don’t. Clever marketing from brands competing against one another is designed to hoodwink your better judgement.
Exactly the line of enquiry in Netflix’s new show…
The impact of Black Friday
The good news is that we’re now becoming more aware of the impact of Black Friday, with many championing slow shopping. Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy recently found ahead of its ‘Buy Nothing New Month’ that many were concerned about “BFCM” (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) encouraging excessive consumption. Meanwhile, 14.5 million UK adults, would be willing to “boycott” the shopping weekend.
Driving even more Black Friday backlash, Netflix’s Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy spoke to industry experts about the marketing tactics used to keep us in a cycle of consumption. The documentary was particularly keen to highlight the amount of items that end up in landfill and makes a case for overhauling the way we shop and do business.
Ironically though, some contributors have come forwards to call out the production company behind the documentary for… the way they did business. Former Love Island star and sustainable fashion “uninfluencer” Dr Brett Staniland used his social media following to highlight this behaviour, which he explains “perpetuate[s] and reinforce[s] the very systems that they’re talking about dismantling.”
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You might be wondering what such treatment has to do with environmental concerns. In the world of social enterprises and responsible procurement, it’s a widely held belief that people and planet are intrinsically linked – environmental harm and exploitation of people are often found to go hand-in-hand (with the Global South and people of colour more likely to be affected too.) Cheaper prices often indicate that someone is being exploited in the supply chain.
Why doesn’t Social Supermarket do Black Friday?
At Social Supermarket, we only partner with impact-led brands and social enterprises because we care about what happens before a product lands in your hands as well as what goes on after. Working with these brands, we aim to change the status quo and create a more fair market. This means not undercutting the people that make and handcraft products.
The brands cutting costs at this time of year so you can buy gifts that cost the earth are at odds with these values. From straining the earth’s natural resources to creating a culture where we throw things away without a second thought, the Netflix documentary is a timely reminder that the power to change is in our hands.
Social enterprises don’t necessarily have the large margins of big corporations to offer deep discounts, as baked into their prices is the positive impact they make for people and planet. It’s more important than ever that we vote with our wallets for the world we want to see.
Dodging Black Friday deals in corporate gifting
It’s not just our personal shopping habits that deserve scrutiny. Did you know that 40% of all corporate gifts end up in the bin? If you’ve ever received a flimsy branded pen or yet another ‘eco-friendly’ water bottle, then you can probably relate. It’s something we dive into in our on-demand webinar, geared for corporate buyers: Stop sending tat. Start gifting impact.
With new or renewed awareness of the wastefulness of Black Friday-style consumerism, you might be thinking of ways to counteract this in your own end of year team or client gifting. When it comes to corporate gifting, we understand that you want it to feel personal. And that’s still possible at scale.
We developed the Team Gifting Platform to allow employees to choose something meaningful that they will actually use, which is inherently a more sustainable way to gift.
How to get started? Simply create a collection of ethical gifts from Social Supermarket within your company’s budget and your employees can choose from the list. Or they can donate the money to a charity of your choice.
With less waste and more employees enjoying things they actually want and need, it’s a great way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Plus, the Platform includes a handy tracker and impact reporting so you can measure your company’s social impact and communicate the good that you’ve contributed to.
With everything from festive food hampers and themed decorations to all-year round goodies like homewares and stationery, we’ve got something for everyone.
Ready to get started? Shop Social Supermarket’s Christmas collection. Or book a demo for our Team Gifting Platform.
