The holiday shopping season officially kicked off with Nov. 24’s Black Friday, an annual tradition that has seen its share of change over the past decade.

While some shoppers continue to flock to stores for what retailers may claim are the best prices of the season (an increase in U.S. store traffic was reported), many are also shopping online in this digitally dominated world, which wouldn’t be complete without a thriving conversation on social media.

Social media suite company Brandwatch has tuned in to that chatter with the release of its recent analysis of the holiday shopping weekend, which tracked online mentions relating to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday between Nov. 23 and 27, 2023.

According to the report, this year’s holiday weekend garnered 42% more mentions than last year’s, with a total of 2.83 million mentions to analyze. The majority of the conversation—89%—was attributed to Black Friday alone, a 46% increase from 2022.

So what was everyone chattering about? Groceries, for one.

While everyone loves a great deal on a TV, it’s not a necessity. The rising price of food, on the other hand, had users pleading for grocery stores to participate in the annual sales holiday. According to the report, while joy was the most prevalent emotion showcased throughout the social conversation, angry mentions saw the most increases—up 445% from the previous five days. Some consumers also voiced a loss of trust in Black Friday and its expectedly low prices, some even going so far as to expose misleading advertising tactics, and warning followers about keeping an eye out for fake deals.

In a protest against consumerism, Buy Nothing Day—a competing holiday that falls on the same Friday and is supported by organizations like Greenpeace and Films for Action—saw a slight increase in conversation this year (3%). While some users voiced their support for the initiative, others highlighted the important distinction between purchasing from big-box retailers and supporting small, independently owned businesses that can’t afford to take a day off.

On the topic of shopping at independent businesses, Small Business Saturday was determined to have generated more discussions this year than in 2022. With 104,200 mentions, the initiative, originally created by American Express, was up 33% over last year. The audience, however, may have been smaller—the number of unique authors in the conversation was down 13% from 2022.
In a gauge of sentiment, the conversation around Small Business Saturday was mostly positive.

And finally, Cyber Monday, the holiday that is basically just a continuation of Black Friday deals, was up 25% in mentions from last year’s event. As for the consumer reaction to the holiday, there was a general sense of awareness when it came to brands really pushing for sales, and some consumers expressed hesitation about buying things senselessly even if it was perceived to be a good deal.

Another popular sentiment this holiday sales weekend: unsubscribing. “I can’t believe it’s already ‘Unsubscribe From Your Emails’ season!” tweeted one user with the hashtag #blackfriday. Shoppers appear to be experiencing promotion fatigue, with holiday shopping emails going out earlier than ever, with still a few weeks left of the season.

What can jewelers take away from all this? Of course consumers like a good discount, especially on things they feel they need or already plan to buy. But they can also sense when a company is trying really hard to make sales, and it’s not a good look. Jewelers can expect to keep doing what they’re doing, especially small independent businesses, as they connect with customers on important life milestones and moments in a personable, transparent environment. And sure, a special discount wouldn’t hurt.

Read the full analysis from Brandwatch here.

Image via Getty

Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine