Half of consumers want to do away with Black Friday
The Black Friday bargain hunt is a thorn in the side of many consumers. According to a Demoscope survey, nearly half of those surveyed are in favor of abolishing such shopping events.
In the year of the Corona pandemic, retailers are once again wooing shoppers with discounts around Friday, November 27. But for half of the potential customers, the consumer events go too far. Issues such as overconsumption, global warming and the Corona pandemic are reasons to abolish Black Friday, according to a survey conducted by the Demoscope polling institute on behalf of Blackfridaydeals.ch.
The basic sentiment towards Black Friday is clearly more negative in German-speaking Switzerland than in French-speaking Switzerland. In the German-speaking part of the country, 51 percent of respondents believe that Black Friday should be abolished. In the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the figure is only 44 percent.
Income and age also play a role
There are also differences in terms of income when it comes to attitudes towards such discount battles: the lower the household income, the more popular Black Friday is. With a household income of up to CHF 4,999, only 44 percent would want to do away with Black Friday. For high household incomes of 9,000 Swiss francs or more, the figure is 54 percent, or more than half.
Age also plays a role: two-thirds of all 55- to 74-year-olds surveyed would do away with Black Friday. Among young people between 15 and 34, on the other hand, only one third would do so.
Contradictory behavior
In general, however, the generally pessimistic consumer mood is also contributing to the reservations about Black Friday. Socially important issues such as overconsumption, global warming and the Corona pandemic are reasons that push bargain hunting into the background, says Julian Zrotz, retail expert at Blackfridaydeals.ch.
Nevertheless, although it had already become clear in recent years that not all Swiss people thought Black Friday was a good thing, more purchases were made on this day than on any other date in the year.
And in fact, the mood towards the most consumer-friendly days has also been worse. According to the release, in last year's survey just under two-thirds of respondents had said they thought the import of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events from the US was a negative development. (SDA)
