Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer world wide shopping experiences.  The main difference between the two shopping extravaganzas is, Black Friday belongs to the retail shopping arena, while Cyber Monday, is designed for online shopping.  Traditionally, Black Friday follows the Friday after Thanksgiving.  It takes hold of an opportunity to cash in on shoppers who are on holiday and ready to fill their time with some retail excitement.  Black Friday has become the time for retailers to advertise bargains, and for the shoppers, to take those bargains and start getting some Christmas shopping done.  Everyone is in the holiday mood and what better way to capture shoppers than to offer a special shopping day.  Cyber Monday follows in the trail of Black Friday it is a one of a kind day, when online shoppers are able to pick up their bargains without having to go to the shops.  The fact that the two days connect with each other at either end of the same weekend, puts them in the retail  limelight, but the overall experience is a different one.  Black Friday  requires a physical presence and Cyber Monday operates with the press of a button and an internet connection. 

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday has been around longer than Cyber Monday and there are several historical connections to this day. The title ‘Black Friday’ has been disputed and tried to be changed to ‘Big Friday’.  However, the name Black Friday has stuck, and still remains as the ultimate shopping day of the year.   This day has been promoted for shoppers around the world and in some cases fans of Black Friday have been known to camp out for the best bargain offers.  The use of the term Black Friday has been attached to a number of different events.  Some of these events are covered up because of their negativity.  Black Friday was once known to have referred to a special day when slave traders could procure slaves at a cheaper price.  Black Friday was also a name used when two men, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk set about buying up all the gold on the stock exchange to build up their personal gold shares.  They planned to send the price of gold sky high for their own benefit. Black Friday marks the day their plot led to the fall of the stock market and bankruptcy for many investors. Another,  more widely accepted story, refers to the activity of the police in the city of Philadelphia.  On this Friday shoppers and tourists flood the city prior to the huge navy/army football game that takes place every year.  The game starts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but fans and tourists arrive on the Friday ready to support their team.  As this takes place during a holiday weekend the city is over run with extra cars and visitors.  Now Black Friday has become an international Shoppers celebration and retailers delight.  

What are the retail benefits of Black Friday?

• Black Friday, initiated for retail benefits, allows the retailers to advertise bargains to a ready and willing market place, on a designated day.
• The shopping hype is used to sell off stock before Christmas and attract willing shoppers. Various stores advertise bargains, and the perceived need to shop, on this special  day.
• The popularity of Black Friday has increased so much that the shops open earlier than before.  In fact some shops open shortly after midnight to get the most shopping time from the event.
• Black Friday specials are known to continue while stocks last and so the event has run into another special shopping day known as Cyber Monday.  This is the day shoppers can shop online  for bargains.  

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday, is the Monday after the Black Friday weekend and it came into being not from the retail angle, but from the shopping fraternity.  Shoppers wanted to benefit from the bargains advertised on Black Friday.  Using technology, and their credit cards, they could shop from the comfort of their homes without going to physically purchase their bargains.  When retailers noticed this trend it became official.  Cyber Monday was born out of a need triggered by the shoppers, and is celebrated as a twenty-four hour event.  The first Monday after Black Friday is the designated day.

What are the interesting features of  Cyber Monday?

• Cyber Monday does not require the shopper to physically enter the shop.  The bargains are available on line.
• Cyber Monday allows interested shoppers to start their Christmas shopping in advance, and be part of the hype surrounding Black Friday, and the Thanksgiving weekend.
• Cyber Monday gives shoppers a last chance to snatch up a bargain offer from all the stores committed to Black Friday.

Differences Between the Two Events. 

1. Timing:  The days of these events are different as they start on the Friday after Thanksgiving or on the Monday of that weekend.  
2. Organization:   It would appear that more organization would be required to host a Black Friday event.  Advertising, marketing, staffing the retail space and dealing with the public takes, a great deal of organization.  Cyber Monday would require marginally less organization after the systems have been set in place,  The shopping experience is an internet event and shoppers shop from the comfort of their home or desk space using lap tops and other technology.
3. Benefits to retailers: Retailers stand to benefit from both these events.  Careful organization and advertising will ensure their products are made known.  The costs to organize this event would probably be less in the case of Cyber Monday as less retail staff will be physically required.
4. 4.Benefits to the shoppers and the public sector:  Everyone loves a bargain and getting to the shop that has advertised your kind of goods on Black Friday, and scooping up a bargain, is a happy experience.  Timing the event strategically after Thanksgiving, and taking advantage of the holiday weekend, makes the whole weekend a platform for enjoyment.  However, if you are not one to go out and shop, the Cyber Monday gives shoppers who enjoy snapping up a bargain through their internet connections, the opportunity to do so.

Difference Between Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

Summary of Black Friday verses Cyber Monday: 

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become hallmark events on the calendar known for their contribution to the retail world.
• What started as an American extravaganza has become a worldwide event with some of the largest international retail organizations taking part.
• The popularity of the shopping days gives some retailers their best figures for the year.  In 2017 Amazon recorded a new sale every 62 seconds.
• The name Black Friday has continued in respect of this retail event, although there were attempts to change the name to Big Friday.  Different stories surround the reason for the name of the day.  Cyber Monday, a relatively newer shopping event, has kept the name Cyber Monday and it is simply an internet shopping occasion.  However, retailers do benefit from the exchange of goods and the monetary rewards with both systems.
• Both these shopping events make use of the Thanksgiving holidays and the desire to start Christmas shopping early.  They mark the beginning of the shopping calendar to Christmas and a time when families are together enjoying their Thanksgiving holidays.
• The two days dedicated to shopping have become international events.  Countries that do not necessarily celebrate Thanksgiving will join in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.
• It has been noted by retail organizations, like the National Retail Federation, that an estimated 135,8 million Americans planned to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend and even more shoppers, an estimated 183,3 million shoppers would use the online bargains found on Cyber Monday.  Clearly these retail shopping days are popular opportunities to buy bargains during and after the Thanksgiving weekend!

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