This year’s Black Friday won’t be like the ones before it—we shouldn’t expect to see hordes of shoppers charging through the doors of our local big box stores (or at least, we hope not)—but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see less sales.

More shoppers have been buying online than ever before, a fairly easy transition given many retailers’ e-commerce capabilities. That statement may or may not be true for small businesses, many of which are used to seeing customers in person and have now adapted to catering to return and new shoppers online.

Of these are the Black-owned small business owners who have been at the heart of a recent movement in consumer behavior, as customers take stock of where their funds are going and make mindful decisions on how big to shop and with whom.

Facebook has been behind a few initiatives in that effort as of late, and its newest one aims to support small Black-owned businesses through the busy holiday season.

Facebook’s #BuyBlack Friday will “harness the energy of the year’s biggest retail day to celebrate and support Black-owned businesses and their communities,” according to the social platform’s blog. Black-owned businesses have been hit especially hard during the pandemic, closing at twice the rate of other small businesses.

Starting Oct. 30, new features on Facebook’s app will encourage people to create posts to support these businesses, in addition to the offering of a toolkit for interested businesses to get involved. The initiative will run for nearly an entire month—with a range of events and resources being offered from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27—with a daily #BuyBlack Friday Show, featuring the live airing of Black businesses, musical artists, stand-up comedians, and New York Times best-selling writer, comedian, and actress Phoebe Robinson.

Facebook also promises to introduce a gift guide later this October to showcase products from  businesses across a multitude of categories, from beauty to home to fashion. A Businesses Nearby tool will also help people find local businesses to support, including those that have designated themselves as Black-owned (a new optional feature from the site).

(Logo courtesy of Facebook)

Brittany Siminitz

JCK Contributing Editor