Bye Bye Black Friday

Black Friday doesn’t just impact people’s bank balance.

If you’re a business owner, Black Friday could be having a negative impact on your brand too.

I talk to founders of MIMMO Studios, Lil and Katie, who are proving that there IS a better way to do fashion retail.

But before we get into their interview, here’s something you should consider before you go bonkers on Black Friday…

Which? 2021 investigation showcases that 99.5 per cent of the Black Friday discounts advertised were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year. Crazy right?

But with the continued media frenzy surrounding Black Friday it’s difficult not get sucked into the ‘deals’ as a consumer. But as an business owner, trying to keep up with the big dogs such as Amazon, Gymshark etc. means hacking into your margins as well as potentially having a damaging effect on your brand.

Now, I’m not saying NEVER to put on a sale again but before you end up in a race to the bottom, ask yourself this…Can you increase the value to your customer rather than reducing the cost of your goods or services?

“Because if you’re a business who regularly discounts it’s products or services, YOU are teaching your customer base that your product or service is not worth its full value.”

Returning to a more expensive price point after repeated sales could convince your customer it’s not worth it and to switch to one of your rivals. You could also see your customer base change from your original target market, making it a uphill struggle to return to a database that’s willing to buy your goods for what they’re worth. Consider ideas such as including complimentary products or services (that don’t destroy profitability), demonstrations or workshops, access to relevant and exclusive online content or even access to a community meet up.

The list really is endless, but it’s about asking what does your customer value? And if you don’t know the answer, my absolute NUMERO UNO top tip…conduct a client survey. The information you will gather will be invaluable to the future of your business.

So, what is consumer behaviour doing and how is it leaving less space in the market for days like Black Friday?

Whilst consumer trends provide your business with insights for the right now, they are even more important to guide where your business NEEDS to be moving in the future. A global study from Forbes confirms that consumers are up to six times more likely to purchase from purpose-driven companies with Millennial and Gen Z shoppers prioritising environmental activism. That might not come as a surprise but you’ll also find that 73% of investors will factor your social and environmental efforts into their investing decisions because your environmental footprint could have a huge impact on financing.

So now we know it’s not just branding that Black Friday can negatively impact. Let’s hear from Katie and Lil at MIMMO Studios on their thoughts…

For years there's been such a huge media hype surrounding Black Friday to gear consumers up to spend lots of money, when did you first become aware of the negative impacts of it? 

Lil and I have both worked in retail since we were teenagers, so seeing it grow into this frenzy and seeing people outside shopping centres smashing windows to get deals on TVs was always jarring. 

Just the scale of how much we consume is bonkers - Having worked in retail and buying for so long, we are both really aware of the harm overconsumption is causing - Not just of fashion, actually, but that’s the area we’re focusing on helping people to rethink. 

Rejecting Black Friday has been a phenomenon for many years in the world of sustainable retail - I think Patagonia were the first with their ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ campaign which got a lot of people talking about it and actually made them stop to think. 

Can you tell me more about the environmental impacts of Black Friday?

Black Friday sales reinforce the idea that people need new things all the time, and creates a sense of urgency which pushes people to purchase things they don't always need. 

There’s some pretty startling facts about the way we consume these days, for example: the average consumer now buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago, and disposes of it much more quickly. (Source: Oxfam GB) Each week in the UK, 11 million garments end up in landfill. (Source: Oxfam GB)

With COP27 happening at the moment with little progress, and the IPCC warning us that 1.5 degrees temperature increase is now inevitable, we all need to be doing whatever we can to reduce our impact. From all the research and reading we’ve done about solutions to the climate crisis, the strongest and most effective method by far seems to be collective change on a mass scale. 

What do you think businesses can do to be more conscious of these impacts?

As a business owner I can totally understand why a business would want to take part in Black Friday. It’s a great chance to clear through stock before the end of the year and boost cash flow pre-Christmas. These days when politics and the economy are so unpredictable I can empathise with wanting the security of cash in the bank. 

However, there’s been a trend towards rejecting Black Friday for all the negative environmental reasons I’ve mentioned - for example this year beauty brand Haeckels is offering their retail spaces to small brands to help customers rethink jumping into buying things just because they’re on sale.  

For us, not participating in these types of events is a really strong signal to our customers of what we stand for and that our ethos is really guiding our business. It’s actually a great opportunity for brands to communicate with their audience on a deeper level and connect with them. 

Avoiding super seasonal products around holidays and calendar events is another way we do this - for example we might sell items which would be great as a valentines gift but would equally be lovely at any other time of year - rather than buying in stock explicitly for those occasions. This means there’s no sense of urgency to clear stock out as it hasn’t got a super short shelf life.

What changes would you encourage people to make when it comes to their shopping habits (throughout the year and not just on Black Friday)? 

The solution is super simple! Just buying less and looking after the things you already have is the best way to tweak your shopping habits to reduce your environmental impact. You definitely don’t have to buy into sustainable alternatives. You actually don’t have to buy anything to be sustainable. That’s the best advice we can give. 

We encourage people to slow down - and try to be conscious of breaking the cycle of buying clothes impulsively. We’d always encourage customers to consider their own personal style and body shape, rather than buying into trends. This really reduces the likelihood of wanting to chuck clothes away as you’re less likely to get bored of them. 

What customers sometimes miss is that some businesses play on this consumption mindset, and actually create lower quality, cheaper items which are designed to go directly into sale. It’s always worth thinking to yourself ‘would I still buy this if it was full price?’. 

Checking the label and investing in natural fibres rather than synthetic materials like polyester means clothes will last longer and are usually easier to repair - plus if they do end up in landfill, natural fibres are biodegradable. 

Looking into the founders and their values is also often a good way of understanding a business and its motivations. If there’s no information about who makes the things you’re buying and how and where they’re made, that can actually tell you a lot about that brand. Ask yourself, why would they want to keep that to themselves - and if you’re a business and don’t give that information - why not?

What are you doing at MIMMO instead of Black Friday? 

We built MIMMO Studios as a case study to prove that retail can be done differently, so we don’t actually do any sales or discounts. We want to change the idea that clothing loses value over time. 

If clothing stayed in active use for 9 months longer (to an average of 3 years), this could reduce the carbon and waste footprint by 20-30% (Source: Oxfam GB). This is a really easy and small change to make. 

We host events in store which are designed to help people get on board with this way of thinking, and for Black Friday we are hosting a clothes swap. People can bring along garments they don’t get much wear out of, and swap them for something new. It’s a great way of reminding people that you don’t always have to buy something new in order to get that fix. 

MIMMO are now selling tickets! Here's a link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mimmo-studios-anti-black-friday-clothes-swap-tickets-465696299167

Or to read more about their marvellous manifesto on reinventing retail, head over to their website.