With the recent onslaught of Thanksgiving deals and Black Friday steals, shoppers have grown weary of manic, in-store traditions. Where discounts were once held dear, support for cause-related holidays such as Small Business Saturday and #GivingTuesday continues to flourish. For the last couple years, Canada has helped encourage a global cultural shift towards holiday altruism.
In today’s business news, shoppers have distinctly opted for holiday weekend mobile purchases over Black Friday’s insomnia laden, in-store steals. With feeble in-store sales, there was a major lack of urgency to rush out on shopping sprees after Thanksgiving this year. Companies like TJX – think TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods – and REI even brandished Black Friday backlash campaigns endorsing “l-o-v-e” over “s-a-l-e-s” and an #OptOutside social media crusade, respectively.
Disenchanted shoppers found solace in stocking up on gifts through 38 percent more mobile purchases and an 18 percent increase in sales by traditional computers and tablets. Amazon was even inclined to begin holiday discounts ten days ahead of Cyber Monday.
Alternatively, the season of giving has incorporated several approachably humanitarian traditions over the years. Small Business Saturday was organized by American Express six years ago to celebrate independent retailers across the U.S. This movement experienced a record turnout with over $16.2 billion in #ShopSmall spending over the weekend.
The spotlight on values-based shopping shines on today with #GivingTuesday, engaging over 30,000 organizations across the world. Canada has led the World Giving Index since the inaugural day of giving in 2013, with 67 percent of Canadians contributing donations to charities, 44 percent volunteering, and 69 percent assisting strangers in need in the last year. As global leaders like Canada lend a philanthropic civic spirit, a weekend of markdowns is discounted and a hopeful holiday can thrive.
