Black Friday and Cyber Monday are key selling days for retailers, driving consumers to stores and e-Commerce sites. However, consumer sentiment regarding the two days varies significantly. According to social analysis from SAP Retail, 72% of consumers mentioned “Black Friday” in posts. Conversely, only 28% of people discussed Cyber Monday. However, SAP Retail noted that posts regarding Cyber Monday were more positive, with customers citing that they were more happy and excited about the shopping holiday than Black Friday. This infographic, courtesy of SAP Retail, spotlights social media mentions leading up to and during the two mega-shopping days, focused on a comparison of consumer sentiment in 2013 vs. 2012.

1. Black Friday vs.
Cyber Monday
Tis the Season for Shopper Social Sentiment
‘
The opportunity has never been easier for consumers to share their thoughts and sentiment
about their retail experiences. As the number of tablets and smartphones per household
increases, so does the amount of touchpoints that exist between company and consumer.
The communication channels are open, and people are talking.
Like last year, we sifted through the social chatter about Black Friday and Cyber Monday and
discovered how consumers really feel about two of the biggest shopping days of the year.
Here’s what we found.
Are consumers in
the shopping spirit?
It’s not all yuletide cheer when it comes to
holiday shopping. Consumers are feeling a
range of emotions about their shopping
experiences this season.
Black Friday Mentions
Cyber Monday Mentions
72%
28%
Black Friday Sentiment
Cyber Monday Sentiment
Great
Excited
Excited
Angry
Concerned
Frustrated
Frustrated
Bored
Happy
Happy
Amazing
Angry
Black Friday mentions more than doubled those of Cyber Monday this year. But not all
attention is good attention. Consumers felt the most excited and happy about Cyber Monday.
2012/2013 Comparison
495%
With their mobile devices armed and ready, consumers
chatted about Black Friday this year more than ever
before. Total volume of mentions was more than five
times the volume of last year.
292%
Consumers also began paying more attention
to Cyber Monday this year. Total volume of
mentions almost quadrupled from last year,
reaching nearly 330,000 mentions in 2013.
With stores opening earlier this holiday season and more shoppers armed with mobile
devices, retailers and consumers had more opportunities to chat about the deals being
offered. Although the volume of mentions around both Black Friday and Cyber Monday
increased greatly this year, the spread between the two days remained similar to 2012,
in which Black Friday had 70% of the mentions.
“I love shopping on Black Friday since
everything is on sale but then I hate
waiting in all these long lines.”
“ The only Black Friday shopping I’ve
done is the online kind. It’s the best
way to avoid crowds and you get
what you want too.”
Posted November 29, 2013
Posted November 29, 2013
Did Christmas come too early this year?
For retailers, it’s never too early to get into the holiday spirit, but do consumers agree?
We tracked the number of social media mentions and sentiment leading up to and
including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Volume of mentions
Black Friday
Cyber Monday
While volume peaked on
Black Friday, sentiment
for the day was at one of
its lowest points.
1,600,000
Volume of mentions
1,400,000
Similar to last
year, volume
of Cyber
Monday
mentions
swelled right
before the
day.
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
Nov 20
Nov 21
Nov 22
Nov 23
Nov 24
Nov 25
Nov 26
Nov 27
Nov 28
29
Nov 30
Dec 1
2
Sentiment
Black Friday
Cyber Monday
Even as Black Friday
sentiment trended
deeply downward the
Monday before
Thanksgiving, Cyber
Monday sentiment
remained steady.
Sentiment for Black Friday
dipped on Thanksgiving
Day, perhaps due to stores
opening early. Ironically,
sentiment for Cyber
Monday was at one of its
highest points.
Sentiment
100
0
Nov 20
Nov 21
Nov 22
Nov 23
Nov 24
Nov 25
Nov 26
Nov 27
Nov 28
29
Nov 30
Dec 1
2
While Black Friday was the clear winner in the volume of social media mentions
received, Cyber Monday was the deal day consumers favored most, receiving
consistently high positive sentiment.
2012/2013 Comparison
72%
19%
Consumers were feeling the love for
Black Friday much more this year
than compared to 2012. With an
average sentiment increase of 72%
for the almost two-week period
around Black Friday, it seems
shoppers are beginning to view the
day in a brighter light.
Cyber Monday continues to gain
favor among consumers year
over year. In the 13 days leading
up to and including Cyber
Monday, average consumer
sentiment increased by 19%
over last year.
Cyber Monday continues to be the clear winner in consumer sentiment year over year.
However, the additional shopping hours appear to have helped improve consumers’
emotions about Black Friday, as sentiment for that day grew leaps and bounds in
comparison to last year.
“I’m enjoying all discounts Black
Friday But from the comfort of my
home. I love you #CyberMonday!!”
“Black Friday was a successssssss.
I’m so glad the sales we wanted
started earlier than last years.”
Posted December 2, 2013
Posted November 29, 2013
Holiday best-sellers
There’s no browsing on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Shoppers are whittling down their
lists and focusing on specific products. From the major retail categories shoppers
mentioned in their social conversations, we measured which types of stores in particular
they had their eyes on the most each day.
Black Friday
11%
9%
36%
29%
3%
12%
Department
Stores
Apparel
Big-Box
Stores
Electronics
Specialty
Online
Retailers
Cyber Monday
6%
13%
18%
15%
2%
46%
Department
Stores
Apparel
Big-Box
Stores
Electronics
Specialty
Online
Retailers
Big-box and electronics stores dominated consumers’ conversations on Black Friday,
perhaps due to many of the stores’ early Thanksgiving Day openings. To no surprise,
consumers focused their social conversations around online retailers on Cyber Monday.
Social chatter also involved big-box and electronics stores, which could be attributed to
more retailers offering online deals as well as in-store savings.
2012/2013 Comparison
156%
Big-box stores received more than double the
volume of mentions they had in 2012 on Black
Friday. Was this a result of more stores engaging
in the social conversations?
130%
2013 saw a drastic increase in social media
chatter for online stores on Cyber Monday,
more than doubling its 2012 mentions.
Compared to 2012, consumers had a lot more to say this Black Friday. All retail
categories increased in the volume of mentions, with conversations around big-box and
electronics stores seeing the greatest gains. However, on Cyber Monday, consumers
stayed more mum: Online and apparel retailers were the only stores receiving more
mentions when compared to last year, increasing by 7,335 and 1,002 mentions,
respectively.
2013 Emerging Trend
Interesting trends are emerging from our analysis of volume of mentions and consumer
sentiment from year to year about each retail category. Have a look.
25%
Department stores continue to lose favor in consumers’
eyes on Black Friday: The category dropped 25% in
consumer sentiment between 2011 and 2013.
1,900%
The Black Friday comeback award goes to the apparel
category, which increased its consumer sentiment in
2013 by 1,900% from 2012.
100%
Consumers have kept Cyber Monday true to its name. The
volume of mentions of online retailers on that day
doubled between 2011 and 2013.
77%
While online retailers gained greater ground in consumers'
social conversations, chatter around specialty stores on
Cyber Monday dropped significantly between 2011 and 2013,
possibly indicating price remains a key value for consumers.
Based on our 2011-2013 year-over-year comparisons of consumer sentiment, Cyber Monday shows a
consistently high positive sentiment for all retail categories. Consumers are a little more fickle with
their feelings when it comes to Black Friday, however, with only online retailers showing a steady
increase in sentiment year over year.
The pros and cons
Consumers hold a variety of priorities, preferences, and drawbacks when it comes to
holiday shopping. We listened to the online chatter to see what they valued on Black
Friday and Cyber Monday.
Price
Convenience
Price still remains king for Cyber
Monday based on consumer
sentiment, which reached 99%
in 2013.
Black Friday has drastically
changed in consumers’ eyes
when it comes to convenience,
increasing from a -7% sentiment
in 2012 to 63% this year. Did the
earlier opening times of stores
help shoppers gain the
immediate access to the goods
they were looking for?
Time
Customer Service
Consumers weren’t as happy
with the customer service they
received this year on Black
Friday. When compared to last
year’s sentiment, the category
dropped 11 percentage points
to 21%.
As expected, consumers held
the lowest sentiment for time on
Black Friday at 8%. And though
Cyber Monday sentiment
around time dropped by three
percentage points from last year,
it still was a clear driver at 80%
this year.
While last year consumers valued the prices and customer service that Black Friday
provided them, this year it was all about easily getting what they needed that pleased
them the most. Price remains the top priority for Cyber Monday shoppers year over
year, while convenience overtook time this year in sentiment.
“These black Friday lines are worse
than Disneyland lines.”
“Cyber Monday has better deals
than Black Friday.”
Posted November 29, 2013
Posted November 28, 2013
Do as I do, not as I say
Stores opening on Thanksgiving Day this year appear to be game-changers for the
holiday shopping season. Although mentions of early-bird sales starting on Thanksgiving
stirred up some interesting opinions in social media conversations, it seems shoppers
still felt compelled to take advantage of the deals, whether they felt good about it or not.
We discovered that in the hours leading up to the start of Thanksgiving Thursday sales,
consumers showed relatively high positive sentiment. But as the mentions of Thursday
shopping began to increase around 5 p.m. ET, the sentiment began to drop significantly,
only picking up again on Black Friday around 11 a.m.
Number of mentions:
Sentiment:
42,128
15%
Number of mentions:
Sentiment:
74,210
-4%
Number of mentions:
Sentiment:
125,728
38%
5 p.m. ET
Thanksgiving Day
9 p.m. ET
Thanksgiving Day
11 a.m. ET
Black Friday
With more brick-and-mortar retailers starting Black Friday
sales on Thanksgiving Day, we may find that retailers who opt
out of this trend will attract new customers and employees
who support their family-friendly policies.
Anita D. Bhappu
PhD, Associate Professor & Program Chair, Retailing & Consumer Sciences
at The University of Arizona
November 15, 2013
“ I really dislike how Black
Friday shopping started
on Thanksgiving.
People should be home
with their family, not
waiting in line for
stores.”
Posted November 29, 2013
“Online black friday shopping is a
great decision year after year.
Because I can't be out in public
in a fuzzy bathrobe, eating Lucky
Charms.”
Posted November 29, 2013
“#BlackFriday is brutal... If you can
avoid it wait for #CyberMonday it's
much tamer.”
Posted November 29, 2013
“Thanksgiving/Black Friday is my new favorite holiday. #TurnUp”
Posted November 29, 2013
What a difference a year makes.
Or does it?
As the holiday deals begin earlier and earlier each year, it appears the lines between
Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to blur, blending into one giant sales event
rather than distinct deal days. Conversations indicate that shoppers take advantage of
both online and in-store specials throughout the entire period, choosing to shop in ways
that satisfy them the most.
How did you shop this year? Share this infographic
and your #BFCMconvo stories with us.
With the SAP® Social Media Analytics application by NetBase,
you can sift through the general noise of social media and listen
to what consumers are saying about you. Consumers aren’t shy
about spreading the social word about their retail experiences.
Read more about how your business can gain deeper insight
into social media.
Want even more holiday social analytics cheer? Check out our holiday dashboard to
see the social sentiment surrounding the Toys“R”Us Hot 15 Holiday Toy List.
*
Data from social analytics expressed here is 80% accurate and based on a statistically representative sample of publicly
accessible posts, which are related to search terms defined by SAP and captured between 11/16/11 and 11/28/11;
11/14/12 and 11/26/12; and 11/20/13 and 12/02/13. The views expressed here are those of the original posters, not SAP.
Social conversations captured by SAP Social Media Analytics.
© 2013 SAP AG or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.