One-day Black Friday and Cyber Monday doorbuster deals that have historically been used to draw crowds to physical stores following the Thanksgiving holiday are a thing of the past, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that not only have US retailers and major mobile carriers focused their efforts online since COVID-19, but have also been offering ‘Black Friday’ phone deals as early as mid-November, with more planned for December.
According to research by GlobalData’s technology team, there were only a quarter of the number of doorbuster holiday deals in 2021 as there were in 2019. Retailers are launching deals early and often but are also allowing online redemption. This encourages more frequent shopping and helps reduce crowd sizes.
Nicole Teasley, Senior Analyst for Consumer Services, Platforms and Devices at GlobalData comments: “COVID-19 has changed the ‘retail Friday-online-Monday’ promotional model that traditionally followed Thanksgiving Day. In 2020, shoppers were encouraged to stay home for the greater part of the year, and, consequently, retailers have focused on online deals to minimize footfall in stores.”
During the 2022 holiday shopping season, US postpaid mobile carriers are set to make offers a bit richer, sometimes in monetary value but mostly with changes to terms and conditions.
Teasley continues: “Postpaid upgrade customers may receive full promotional value in most cases throughout the post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Switchers may be courted with an additional discount that can be combined with other promos.”
Meanwhile, prepaid mobile service providers will also target switcher and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) customers with gift card deals for the holidays. There will be trade-in offers from some prepaid carriers this holiday season, but big price cuts are expected to be the main event.
Teasley adds: “Device manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung may look to pull consumers further into product ecosystems by bundling subscriptions, earbuds, smartwatches, tablets, and even discounted home appliances with phones. Big box retailers will provide a one-stop shopping experience where customers can seek out the best phone deals from all major carriers, and stack additional offers from the retailer.”
