Tentpole Days

Photo by Xiaolong Wong on Unsplash

Black Friday and Boxing Day have a couple of things in common:

1. They are tacked on to a holiday, resulting in them becoming a holiday themselves (to a degree).
2. They are both associated with goods and services going on sale for a limited time.

I want to focus on that second point for a moment.

If i was looking at which of the two days was a more productive one based on that point alone, I’d say Black Friday wins out. Why? Because the sales happening before Christmas are proactive. On Boxing Day they are reactive, with the idea that stores need to offload stock they didn’t sell leading up to Christmas.

But business owners are a savvy bunch. They work Boxing Day sales into their plans, meaning that they don’t necessarily lose money through sales on that day. Instead, they are selective about orders and positioning of products for their Boxing Day sales. If they plan accordingly, Boxing Day can be a solid day for them — even their best sales day of the year.

These two days — Black Friday and Boxing Day — are tentpole days for many retailers (some don’t observe either, such as Costco). When handled wisely, these days can be looked forward to with less anxiety and more anticipation. When handled poorly, they can do the opposite of their intent — keep a business from going into the black, instead leaning (or careening) into the red.

You have tentpole days like this in your life. New Year’s Day could be one. Your birthday could be another. Take some time to plan them accordingly so that they are as profitable — and as productive — as possible.