Black Friday shopping with a catch
The Project
Ever bought something online and it wasn’t what you expected when it arrived? With less than 4% of e-commerce stores being accessible, this is something people with low vision or blindness face almost every time they shop online.
So, we decided to flip Black Friday on its head and shift the mindset of Aussie shoppers.
THE CHALLENGE
When your purchase has a vague description like ‘red jumper’, how can you really tell what you’re getting? Is it a zip-up or a pullover? Cute logo or covered in silly reindeer? A lack of detailed product descriptions makes shopping a nightmare for people with low vision or blindness, and it’s even worse during major sales events like Black Friday.
While we couldn’t fix every online store this sales season, we could raise awareness to start the change process.
THE SOLUTION
We hijacked Black Friday and turned this common barrier into an immersive experience into Blackout Friday: the only store where shoppers couldn’t see what they were buying.
We invited Sydneysiders to browse a curated collection of pre-loved items from fashion marketplace UTURN during Black Friday sales. The catch? All items were hidden in black packaging that displayed limited written descriptions, mirroring the challenge people with low vision or blindness regularly face when they go online.
This created an ‘aha!’ moment for shoppers when they realised what they bought wasn’t what they expected.
The Results
The aim of Blackout Friday was to highlight the issue and show how small changes in digital accessibility would make a big difference to the blindness and low vision community.
This earned creative idea was the perfect juxtaposition to the retail frenzy, and the media lapped it up. The pop-up store garnered 103 PR hits across TV, radio, trade media, and online lifestyle magazines, with a combined earned media reach of 18.7 million. The influencers created content that generated a lot of buzz online, with a combined reach of 65,000.
Importantly, the event and coverage sparked a lot of meaningful online chatter among customers and retailers, empowering both audiences to make online shopping more accessible.
“Many e-commerce brands aren’t aware of the small changes that would make a big difference to our community. We found a way to clearly explain the issue with actionable steps to create real change.” – Michael Apte, CMO at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
