I am not a shopper. In fact, it is punishment for me to shop. I have a list, I walk into the store, and I get what I need and I get out as quickly as possible. I avoid crowds at all costs and (usually) if there are more than two people in a line, I have been known to walk away and come back another time when it is less crowded. It is absolutely the worst thing to do and I dread any kind of shopping, including grocery shopping.

Which is why I always dread black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year. Friends invite me out for the 4 a.m. shopping spree and I decline, sleep in, enjoy my coffee and relax. I actually prefer Cyber Monday when I can get all my shopping done online and at home.

It is 2020 and here we are again on a Black Friday. Things are different from previous years because of COVID-19. Many stores are not open, and those that are cannot hold large crowds, at least that’s the way it is up here where I live. Despite the differences, there is one thing that remains the same: Black Friday deals. Naturally, I started Googling sales, just to browse, and interestingly, I found a huge proportion of Black Friday deals related to online meat and meat products.

Maybe I am behind the times, but I didn’t know meat sales were such a big deal on Black Friday. What's not to love about online meat sales? I will say that most of the sales I noted were custom meats and “local”/ smaller butcher shops. But could this be an opportunity for us as an industry? After all, what a great way to market products for those that don’t go into the stores anymore to shop for groceries.

The marketing around most (but not all) of these meat sales were focused on sustainability and free range organic meats. Many of them were monthly subscription for the meats of your choice. For Black Friday sales and enticement, some free meat was thrown in for subscribing. Who doesn’t love free chicken sausage or turkey jerky? The price wasn’t bad either, compared to upscale grocery stores and specialty shops, and the shipping was free. Choosing this option as a gift for a family member that has everything was appealing to me, along with the fact that I didn’t have to go shopping for meat at the local grocery store, where I may not always find what I am looking for on the shelves.

Unless we are on the floor working (and thank you again to all those people who are keeping food on our table!), most of us are still working from home. I would like to suggest that working from home leaves more time to cook dinner and grocery shop, especially since we don’t have a commute. But we all know the reality is we are tired of cooking and grocery shopping. “What’s for dinner?” is not an exciting topic in our house anymore. I am going to predict these online meat sales are probably here to stay and may be a growing necessity as we all try to simplify our routines, especially grocery shopping and cooking routines.

Finally, the flexibility and customer support of these online meat sales is astounding. Who has a 24/7 support for meat sales? You can cancel at any time and even choose your billing date for some of them. Plus, you can change your meat choices month to month and get that variety with a click of a button. I don’t know how many people participate with these online meat sales but I wonder if it is an opportunity to explore, ease burdens on families, and increase product branding and marketing.

As we say goodbye to November, I hope everyone has a great Black Friday and finds some great deals including meat sales. Support the industry and eat poultry!

Black Friday deals

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