Retailers cannot avoid participating in "Black Friday"

In North America, department stores lure their customers into the stores on the fourth Friday in November with many special offers. Black Friday originated because in the USA, on this day - directly after Thanksgiving - the majority of the population has time off and therefore time for shopping.

In Switzerland, however, the tradition is still young. One of the Swiss "Black Friday" pioneers is the Migros subsidiary Digitec Galaxus, which was one of the first retailers to jump on the trend in 2015. At the time, the online store operator explained that increased mobility was leading to a blending of customs and trends worldwide.

Strongest day of the year

Digitec Galaxus now expects Black Friday to be the strongest day in terms of sales this year. "Cyber Monday" is expected to follow in second place three days later, a spokesperson for the company told the news agency AWP. Cyber Monday was originally the response of online stores to the traditional Black Friday, which was launched by retailers. The online giant Amazon even runs an entire week of discounts under this name in November. In Germany, for example, the furniture chain Conforama, which is owned by the South African-German company Steinhoff, follows this model. From November 19 to 26, it is holding a "black week", as it wrote in a communiqué on Wednesday. And retailers have high expectations of the discount campaign. "Black Friday has become an unavoidable date in Switzerland," said Patrice Dupasquier, head of Conforama in Switzerland. What's more, business is growing from year to year. "We are expecting another year-on-year increase in sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday," emphasized the Digitec spokesperson, although he did not want to be pinned down to specific figures.

Concept has "proven itself"

Manor is also convinced by the new sales day. "The Black Friday concept works and has proven itself for Manor since its introduction in 2015," a spokeswoman for the chain, which belongs to Geneva-based Maus Frères Holding, told AWP. She also did not give any specific figures, but pointed out that "the discount day is the start of strong Christmas business, which is worthwhile for both sides from an economic perspective - both for customers and for Manor".

Retail experts confirm that the importance of Black Friday is growing. "A number of new companies are taking part for the first time again this year," said Karine Szegedi, retail specialist at Deloitte Switzerland. She assumes that the sales that were previously generated in stores in December will now be generated in November.

Not only Black Friday and Cyber Monday are responsible for this, but also Singles Day. This was already celebrated on November 11, but still has a rather marginal existence in this country. It is a mega event in China in particular. Originally a holiday for single people, it has now become the most important online shopping day there.

Retailers have no choice

Not all experts are positive about the new hype surrounding "Black Friday". Cary Steinmann, marketing strategy consultant and former economics professor at the ZHAW School of Management and Law, for example, finds the discount battle ridiculous. Many Swiss people don't even know where the sales day comes from and that it is connected to the US tradition of Thanksgiving. What particularly bothers Steinmann is that "local companies are adopting American marketing strategies instead of coming up with their own, more suitable concepts".

Certain German experts are also critical of the trend. "Throwing discounts around right at the start of the important Christmas season doesn't really make sense. The discounts should only come at the end of the season," said industry expert Gerrit Heinemann to the news agency DPA. However, retailers have little choice, added Kai Hudetz from the Institute for Retail Research (IFH) in Cologne: "Those who don't participate must fear that they will end up sitting on their goods." (Kaspar Wolfensberger and Lassila Karuta, AWP)