Last month we explored some early Black Friday tips ahead of the promotional period, as well as why it’s still a sale to get involved in. This month, with Black Friday taking place on 24 November 2023, and its sister sales day being Cyber Monday, set for 27 November 2023, we take a look at what some retailers are doing.

To kick things off, online furniture retailer Furniture And Choice have gone BIG with their Black Friday promotion, although it’s not entirely directed at the event. They have just launched its debut TV ad campaign, ‘Keep on Living’, in time for Black Friday. It aims to tackle the fears of online furniture shopping vs free 3-5 days delivery and free returns offered by the business. The retailer has decided to take full advantage of the promotion, incorporating it in line with Black Friday. “We wanted this campaign to show how stress-free it is to order furniture on our site,” Furniture And Choice said. “Coming up to Black Friday, buying furniture can come with too many fears and unknowns. We want to take all of those away from you with fast, free delivery and easy, free returns and great customer service.”

From investing in a TV advertising campaign to onsite promo codes, Furniture123.co.uk has taken this stance, offering a £50 saving using the code DEAL50 on its Black Friday selected lines, which are available to buy right now. This is a move to try and get ahead of the Black Friday flurry and try to get shoppers parting with cash early. Furthermore, Oak Furnitureland has launched its own ‘Black Friday Sale’ across a variety of products – again, currently live and ahead of the official day. There’s even a bold tab on its menu bar on the website too. 

Meanwhile, Barker and Stonehouse have taken a different approach. Instead of declaring what’s in the sale now, they have teased with a ‘Black Friday Furniture Deals’ tagline, which also states ‘Check back again soon!’ aiming to encourage return visitors to come back and find out just what is going to be in their Black Friday sale. As for Very.co.uk, they have followed the strategy of early promotions, with a variety of furnishing products already listed as part of the dedicated sale, while IKEA UK has taken the Barker approach too, trying to get customers to come back, stating: “Looking for Black Friday Furniture Deals? You’re in the right place but a little early! Check in as we get closer to November 24th to see what we have to offer for Black Friday deals in 2023!”

Other examples see Mattressman offer 15% off any divan and mattress, an early access discount event at MattressNextDay, a sign up form by ScS to share customers with offers – which is also good for data capture purposes too, and Furniture Village’s guaranteed delivery by Christmas through its Black Friday sale period, labelling it up as an ‘early gift’. The Range are offering up to 50% off in its promotion, while Taylors Furniture Stores are incorporating its stocktaking sale within the Black Friday event. 

As a final example, John Lewis caught the eye with its strategy of linking Black Friday to Christmas. John Lewis has launched its Black Friday deals earlier than ever as new data from its own Festive Traditions report shows the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ have been replaced by a 45-day countdown – with the average person expected to start shopping in earnest on 10 November. “John Lewis is rewriting the Black Friday rulebook,” the retailer said. “The idea of it being a one-weekend event is a thing of the past and we’re instead helping our customers with incredible discounts on our amazing range of quality brands all month long. It’s a win-win for customers, who we know are buying for Christmas earlier than ever. It means not only can they tick off their shopping list early, but they can also spread out the cost of Christmas.”

There you have it. Perhaps these have given you some food for thought if you’re not already in the Black Friday game with a mix of different promotions that are taking place within the furnishings industry. So, how are you promoting Black Friday?