Traders report record sales thanks to discount campaigns. According to experts, they will grow in shopping centers until Christmas Eve.
Merchants attract with various discount actions before the Christmas holidays, which help them improve their economic results. Therefore, the marketing slogans of individual sellers these days were filled with terms such as Singles Day, Black Week, Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The discount week is then seamlessly followed by Advent shopping, which traditionally brings the highest weekend visits and revenues of the year.
The attractively priced last week of November is gaining more and more appeal to both retailers and customers themselves. Events like Singles Day on November 11 or Black Week at the end of last month, herald the Christmas season. For example, last year's e-shop revenue for the week with Black Friday was around eight billion crowns. This year's interest in Black Friday sales was even higher according to retailers. Just on the internet, Czechs spent approximately 8.5 billion, as reported by the Association for Electronic Commerce.
Black Friday kicks off shopping madness
Black Friday regularly brings the most advantageous offers of the year across categories; retailers bet on significant discounts even on more expensive items and on selling off older collections. The attendance of shopping centers and online sales are growing significantly.
"Generally, customers are more optimistic this year and are spending more. When the event lasts a whole week, it mainly helps us better manage the rush on logistics and workers in our warehouse,"
Petr Langer, the head of external communication for Alensa opticians, wrote for LP-Life.
For example, the sex shop Pink Elephant, as confirmed by ČTK, has recorded double the revenue compared to last year. The average order value increased by about a quarter, said Adam Durčák, the owner of the sex shop. In Super zoo stores, demand during Black Friday increased by 15 percent year on year. The Angry Beards cosmetics store, which reported a nearly 80 percent increase in sales revenue, also noted increased interest. Black Friday was responsible for six percent of the annual results for this retailer last year, this year it could reportedly be eight to ten percent.
"There's also interest in the Christmas range. Some customers are already buying gifts for their pets for under the tree, like treats and toys,"
said ČTK representative of the company Luboš Rejchrt.
The electronics retailer Datart reported that interest in Black Friday discounts increased by ten percent year on year. Planeo, which included twice the number of products in its Black Friday offer, also confirms the appetite for new goods. Compared to last year, there is reportedly greater demand for game consoles or electric toothbrushes, for example. In this segment, albeit Black Friday remains a key draw of the year, December often brings even higher turnovers thanks to a different composition of goods and a longer period.
"The trend across the market is the expansion of the promotional range and longer campaign durations. At the same time, the omnichannel approach is strengthening. Customers combine online inspiration with shopping in brick-and-mortar stores and vice versa. Tenants unanimously expect higher turnovers than last year, thanks to better preparation, expanded offer, and longer validity of individual campaigns,"
the deputy director of shopping center rentals at CBRE, Miriama Malewska, told the editorial office.
Advent wants to follow the "Black" events
After Black Friday, Cyber Monday comes at the beginning of December, followed by Advent weekends aimed at gifts, winter, and party collections. These are no longer so much about drastic discounts. The emphasis is placed on the clarity of the offer, inspiration, and shopping experiences.
In the beauty segment, December sales are usually 2 to 3 times higher than in a regular month and even outperform Black Friday. This event becomes a trigger for increased visitor traffic. During Black Friday, large centers usually record about 15 percent more visitors than on an average Friday of the year. The upward trend then continues until the end of the year.
"We expect this year's Christmas traffic in shopping centers to be approximately at last year's level. December usually accounts for about 9 to 11 percent of annual visitation. The most pronounced peak occurs in the last week of Advent, when attendance typically increases by 40 to 50 percent above the annual average. After Covid, the way of shopping has also changed. The biggest rush is now focused on the absolute finale before Christmas, whereas in the past the third week of Advent was also very strong,"
Malewska adds.
E-shops meanwhile expect that Christmas revenue will reach 73.5 to 77 billion crowns, which is five to ten percent more than last year. It is also clear that both traders and customers have become accustomed to discount and other promotional actions, which are supposed to increase pre-Christmas sales. Many of the vendors try to behave honestly and observe the rules. This is also evidenced by the latest numbers: whereas in 2023, according to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority, the rule for informing about discounts was violated by a percentage of the controlled traders, last year it was 28 percent and so far this year it is only about a quarter.
Sources: author's article, own questioning, ČTK
