Black Friday is over and has set new standards – the Otto retail group and Blackfriday.de take stock.
The Internet portal Blackfriday.de bundled the offers and promotions from retailers and brands in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the run-up to the discount day and published them at the start of Black Friday. By Sunday, the portal had already recorded 1.5 million visitors from German-speaking countries to the website and the app.
According to the website, the most popular offers were the promotions of the online retailer Otto, the fashion group Hugo Boss, the cruise brand Aida, the mobile phone provider Vodafone and the technology company Dyson.
Otto’s online shop received more than 40 orders per second on Black Friday, the retail group said. This made Black Friday this year traffic of all time: “Black Friday is one of the days of the year with the highest sales and something that consumers have long learned,” comments Marc Opelt, Chairman of the Divisional Board at Otto.
“Black Friday is an opportunity and a risk in one,” continues Opelt. “On the one hand, Black Friday represents strong momentum in the market, but on the other hand, retailers offer extremely aggressive prices during this time. Anyone who doesn’t calculate this risk correctly will pay more. That’s why we pay very close attention to which ranges and deals we offer our customers and at what time.”
The German Trade Association (HDE) also had a campaign in the run-up to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday days Sales growth of three percent compared to the previous year forecast. The association estimates a sales volume of 5.8 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 200 million euros compared to 2022.
Trends and developments
Long before the actual Black Friday, retailers are attracting discounts and promotions – a trend that, according to Blackfriday.de, emerged early in November. The internet portal, in collaboration with the market research company Appinio, conducted a Germany-wide survey on shopping behavior and trends surrounding the promotional day in November 2023. A total of 1,000 consumers between the ages of 16 and 65 were surveyed.
According to the survey, 81 percent of respondents planned targeted purchases on Black Friday. This corresponds to an increase of 12.5 percent compared to the previous year and is therefore at a record high. Despite the early discounts throughout November, the majority of consumers held back on their purchases: 87 percent of those surveyed said they would wait until Black Friday to make their purchases because they expect the cheapest price then.
As in previous years, technology and electronics are at the top of consumers’ wish lists on Black Friday. 77 percent of those surveyed were previously interested in electrical products, 55 percent in fashion and 35 percent in sporting goods. At Otto, too, technology was most in demand, especially games consoles followed by headphones.
But Black Friday offers were not only used online; consumers were planning more stationary purchases again. 41 percent of those surveyed said they also wanted to shop in retail stores; last year the proportion was 33 percent. However, at 59 percent, most consumers chose online retail.
The timing of shopping has also changed compared to previous years. Experience has shown that the greatest rush was expected on the night from Thursday to Friday, but instead online purchases were spread over the entire Friday. Otto recorded the busiest time for orders at 9 p.m.
The now firmly established discount day Black Friday has its origins in the USA, where it marks the bridge day after the Thanksgiving holiday and heralds the start of the Christmas shopping season.