Contents
About
I reviewed Black Friday content on 100 purpose-driven ecommerce sites, mainly based in the UK. All were either a B Corp or a brand who’ve committed to do good for people or planet.
For each brand I reviewed the content on the homepage, and in some cases email and social media too.
Black Friday impacts
For people
Black Friday can trigger overspending and buyers remorse. A Starling survey found 9 out of 10 people overspent and 1 in 5 regret their purchase.
Of course, many people do welcome Black Friday deals, especially with rising costs.
For the planet
The UN’s 2024 global resources impact report is clear, we need to buy less things, less often.
Black Friday fuels overconsumption. The University of Leeds found 80% of Black Friday purchases end up as waste within a short period and many are only used once.
For profit
Black Friday might well have gained its name from retailers going back into the black, and there’s no doubt that it drives sales. But like any promotion, it comes at a cost.
How purpose-driven brands took part in Black Friday
Of the 100 brands I reviewed:
- 60% offered a discount
- 19% didn’t mention Black Friday
- 12% opted out (and 2% closed)
- 9% pledged to increase donations or impact
Offered a discount
The majority (60%) of brands ran a Black Friday discount. Of those, half (30%) offered a sitewide discount, while half discounted selected items.
Some larger brands did complex multi-channel Black Friday campaigns, including homepage takeovers and specific Black Friday email sign up flows.
Fussy targeted new email sign ups with early access to Black Friday discounts.
Slow discounts
Several brands, like Wanderlust Life and The Ordinary, offered ‘slow’ Black Friday discounts that were available for the whole month.
Interestingly, according to Klaviyo’s Black Friday report, mainstream brands are also starting to extend their discount periods.
Donations with discounts
Some of those who offered a discount also increased donations, like Baabuk and Pangaia.
Baabuk offered a choose your own adventure style donation, where you chose the level of discount vs donation.
Pangaia offered 30% off in return for a donation.
No mention of Black Friday
Just under a fifth (19%) did not offer a discount, opt out or mention Black Friday at all (that I could find). Brands in this category included Who Gives a Crap, Stay Wild Swim and Smol.
Opted out
12% publicly opted out, including Patagonia, Hiut and Dryrobe.
Closed for Black Friday
Of those that opted out, 2 sites closed for online sales.
Hiut replaced their website with a single black screen where they renamed Black Friday ‘Fryday’ and rallied against ‘a day dedicated to overconsumption’.
The Ordinary kept the website up but removed the buy buttons, linking to a guide to intentional shopping.
Increased impact or donations
9% of brands did not offer a discount but increased their impact or charity donations.
Finisterre donated £2 from each order to ‘keep the ocean blue’.
While Ocean Bottle doubled their usual impact per purchase, from 1,000 to 2,000 plastic bottles removed from waterways.
Vivo Barefoot used the Black Friday period as an opportunity to launch Take Back by Revivo. The new scheme offers 20% off when you trade in ‘any old shoe’ for recycling.
Black Friday content examples
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