Pictures: Netflix & Getty Images
Black Friday is once again upon us and while those two words may fill you with dread or wonder, Netflix has never participated in the festivities even when most of its streaming competition does.
Every year, Black Friday marks the busiest shopping day of the year and follows the day after Thanksgiving. While the holiday started in the United States of America, it’s spread around the world with much of the world now participating.
Most of the reason why people participate in the day is because they’re looking for a bargain and indeed, thousands of retailers both offline and online discount prices including big streamers.
Our friends at CordCuttersNews have been busy already collating some of the best streaming deals for 2021. At the moment, some of the biggest deals including Hulu bringing back its 99 cent deal, PBS Prime Channels being discounted to 99 cents, Paramount+ giving a month for free and AMC+ giving a deal where you get the service for just shy of $2 a month. I
There are countless more examples but not among them is Netflix who hasn’t ever participated in the holiday season and indeed has rarely if ever discounted its service for Black Friday or otherwise.
Hulu Black Friday Promotion
We have seen examples of Netflix discounting in other methods whether that be offering free tiers of Netflix in Kenya or Vietnam or offering mobile tiers but that’s not discounting per say.
So why doesn’t Netflix ever participate in discounting or Black Friday? Well, according to Patrick Campbell of PriceIntelligently, it could lead to long-term damage to your overall product and brand.
In his piece, Patrick says that discount pricing can increase acquisition (something rivals of Netflix are more focused on as they try to compete in the crowded space) but says there are notable drawbacks that can easily apply to streamers including:
- Lower willingness to pay in the future because the perceived value of your product is now at the lower discounted tier.
- Higher churn rates as price rises almost always lead to customers unsubscribing.
- Trains your customer base to devalue your product from the get-go.
Given these Black Friday deals for streamers seem to be the same every year, well-trained consumers could simply only ever jump onto your service at a discounted rate from here on out.
So all this is to say that Netflix could be abiding by this principle by going along with the mantra that the price you pay is the price you see and that’s it.
You can sometimes get Netflix cheaper whether that be with a phone plan or via using discounted gift vouchers but that isn’t quite the same as direct discounts.
At this point, we should note that Netflix has steadily been raising its prices over time with premium Netflix jumping from $13.99 to $17.99 in the US between 2013 and 2021.
Will Netflix.Shop participate in Black Friday?
One big difference going into 2021 is Netflix’s new merchandise shop. Will that be participating in Black Friday? At the moment, that looks unlikely.
Instead, they’re currently running an event over Thanksgiving called “Prop Drop Sweepstakes” which allows you to enter to win iconic props seen in shows such as Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Witcher, Sex Education, Bridgerton, Lost in Space and Money Heist. Only those in the United States are allowed to participate, however.
Do you wish Netflix did a special deal for Black Friday? Do you think they have the right strategy when it comes to discounts? Let us know in the comments.