A Great DEAL of Expectations The Buzz around Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals on Social Media

Presented By: Jim Reynolds

Strategic Account Manager – SM2

@jimmyrey

Search Setup In Alterian SM2

Companies: Walmart, Kmart, Sears, JC Penney, Kohls, Macys, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Target Topic Focus: Black Friday & Cyber Monday Date Range(s): 11/1/2009 – 12/3/2009 & 11/1/2010 – 11/19/2010 (We will be collecting data through December 3rd and publish an update shortly after)

Locations / Languages: All Countries & Languages

2009 Daily Volume – All Topics

Analysis

• Total of 50k social media mentions

• Volume of conversation picks up dramatically Thanksgiving week and peaks on Black Friday

• Second largest spike occurs on Cyber Monday

2009 Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

Analysis • In 2009, Black Friday definitely led the overall conversation with 87.5% of the

chatter

2010 Daily Volume – All Topics

Analysis

• Total of 37k social media mentions

• Early data conclusion is that more people are talking about both Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year than they were last year

• The spikes correlate to early previews of deals

2010 Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

Analysis • In 2010, Black Friday chatter is dominating the overall conversation. This is

expected since promotions have not yet been released or leaked

2009 Share of Voice Total – All Topics

Analysis • Media Types Other

38% (Primarily deal sharing sites and mainstream media)

• Microblogs 27% (Twitter + Clones)

• Message Boards 16% (Discussions about best deals from retailers)

• The rest amounts to less than 10%

2009 Share of Voice Trend – All Topics

Analysis • Media Types Other & Twitter traffic is identical up until Black Friday • Media Types Other remain active in deal discussion while Twitter traffic simply drops off • Message boards follow a pattern similar to that of Twitter

2010 Share of Voice Total – All Topics

Analysis • Microblogs 47%

(Major jump from last year)

• Message Boards 18% (over 2% increase from last year)

• Media Types Other 17% (More than 20% drop in mentions)

• Social Networks 10%

• All others 5% or less

2010 Share of Voice Trend – All Topics

Analysis • Microblog mentions spike based on ads or leaks of upcoming deals • Social Networks appear to follow a nearly identical pattern to Microblogs • Message boards seem to slowly build momentum as people are discussing deals more

frequently with the approach of Black Friday & Cyber Monday

2009 Retailer Comparison

Analysis • Walmart: 29% • BestBuy: 22% • Target: 18% • Toys ‘R Us: 8% • Sears: 6% • Macy’s: 5% • Kohl’s: 4.7% • Kmart: 4% • JC Penney: 2.5%

2009 Retailer Comparison

Analysis • Overall, all retailers followed the same patterns in 2009 with pre-Black Friday spikes

correlating to leaks of deals • On Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Walmart, Best Buy and Target pulled ahead, followed by

Toys ‘R Us

2009 Topic Analysis – Black Friday

Analysis • Majority of social media chatter was focused on deal-related terms • Product group mentions focused on Blu-Ray, HDTV & Laptop • Interesting sub topics around waiting, wait, door buster

2009 Topic Analysis – Cyber Monday

Analysis • Unlike Black Friday, Cyber Monday was definitely more product-focused with multiple

brand mentions (Nintendo, Apple, Wii) • Product group mentions focused on games, netbook, laptop

2010 Retailer Comparison

Analysis

• Walmart: 32% UP • Target: 20% UP • Best Buy: 19% DOWN • Sears: 8% UP • Toys ‘R Us: 7% DOWN • Kohl’s: 4% DOWN • Kmart :3.6% DOWN • Macy’s: 4% DOWN • JC Penney: 1% DOWN

2010 Retailer Comparison

Analysis • The overall trend in 2010 is very different than the trend in 2009 so far; there is a lot

more activity as deals start to leak • As we get closer to Black Friday/Cyber Monday, we predict that the race will be between

Walmart, Best Buy and Target

2010 Topic Analysis – Black Friday

Analysis • Majority of social media chatter is focused on Target and Walmart, with other large

topics centered on deals • Product group mentions focused on mobile phones (new for 2010), appliances (new for

2010), games (new for 2010), Laptop and HDTV

2010 Topic Analysis – Cyber Monday

Analysis • Early Cyber Monday chatter is focused on signing up for access to sneak peeks of Cyber

Monday deals • Similar to 2009 topics, Cyber Monday is definitely more product-focused than is Black

Friday

Summary Overall • People seem to love sharing and discussing deals in social media. From reviewing

the data, we can conclude that consumers enjoy the hunt of a great price just as much as getting a great deal

• As highlighted by the analysis for 2010, people are using social media to identify the best deals and are not afraid to mention products by name. This could be a huge opportunity for assertive companies to market products in social media around the holiday season

• As data continues to update, feel free to watch along via our public dashboards • 2010 Retailers – Ranking mentions of all retailers hourly • http://bit.ly/2010retailers • 2009 vs. 2010 Black Friday, Cyber Monday - Ranking cumulative mentions &

social media channels of Black Friday & Cyber Monday hourly • http://bit.ly/2010blackfriday • http://bit.ly/2010cybermonday