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dealz dealz dealzDESPITE BEING A new phenomenon among Irish consumers, Black Friday has already shifted shoppers’ spending habits.
New figures from Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) show a general uplift in most sectors, despite momentum tailing off in the aftermath of Black Friday and weather hampering footfall in city centres nationwide.
REI head of communications Lynn Drumgoole said there was already a trend emerging of Irish shoppers prioritising Black Friday sales over traditional gift-buying periods and post-Christmas sales.
“It is clear that the Black Friday phenomenon is having a significant impact across many sectors and especially in consumer electronics where there was strong growth across the quarter,” she said.
However Black Friday led to a quieter October as consumers postpone spending, and a weaker post Christmas sales period.
Nationwide benefits
Traditionally a popular event in the United States, Black Friday has become a global affair in recent years as shoppers flock to the stores on the day after Thanksgiving to snap up discount goods as part of the flash sale.
Last year saw a number of Irish retailers attempt to replicate the experience. In Longford Town, the local chamber of commerce coordinated 65 local businesses who teamed up to offer a range of discounts in order to encourage footfall on the day.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Cork Business Association chief executive Lawrence Owens said that despite the mixed reviews of Black Friday, it was positive for businesses in general.
“There was definitely a greater willingness to spend this Christmas period and only for the weather it could have been even better,” he said.
I would say some Cork retailers may have been a bit behind in terms of the trend. It looks like Christmas trade will begin a bit earlier from now on and this will be important for our members who are worrying about reductions in their margins.
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I think we’re just reaching the saturation point…
A century’s drive pushing people to spend and consume… branding, advertising, holiday shopping drives, dept stores, late opening hours, sales, promotions, credit cards, product financing, retail psychology, malls, product placement, e-commerce, lifestyle marketing, aspirational marketing, m-commerce, social media.
Everything that can possibly be done to get people
to get people to spend has already been done, so much so people are bored of it, it’s all just noise, all these products have failed to deliver on their promises… And all that’s left are cynical consumers.
I agree entirely with your view Drew the Chinaman. The relentless commercialisation of every human activity is slowly beginning to fail. There is only so much that people will swallow. Black Friday in Ireland was doomed to fail because it was merely enticing an earlier spend rather than an extra. Adopting an American day was pure stupidity.
We now have so many annual ‘days’ of one thing or another that is is comical. The pushing of so called healthy lifestyles by certain individuals is just another attempt to milk more out of the already exhausted consumer. ( excuse the unintended puns). Be sure there is always someone on the make when people are being pressured to buy into these fads.
Moderation in all things costs nothing.
A healthy lifestyle is practically free…
All they’re marketing is to convince you that the ‘free way’ is the ineffective and the fools choice so to speak. Meanwhile you pay for an easier, quicker, less effort way that you can consume conspicuously aka. ‘the gym locker room selfie’
Would every day in longford not feel like a black day?
I was in the shops that weekend and did not see any sale items of any value. Anything reduced was crap in the first place. This is just my opinion and I know people who said they got items half price etc. I was looking for a particular tablet and it actually went up in price. As for clothes it’s a permanent sale these days and some shops drag out stock from other places mostly junk.
I have yet to see a valid argument as to why I should spend my time in a crowded retail store for minimal discounts when I can find everything I need at reasonable prices online.
Beware online bargains. Stuff I had on my watchlist increased in price for Black Friday.
If my time in retail taught me anything, it’s that even on “sale” items the retailer is making their margin. Too often I saw new items come in priced at double what they were worth, then hey presto 30 days later marked down to the realistic price and suddenly the big signs with 50% off go up and they fly out…
I find Kildare village, Jersey gardens, Bicester village amusing. There’s not enough merchandise made for those places to be reduced merchandise from mainline stores or production over runs… 80% of it is now made for outlet. The codes on price tags at Nike, Gap, Ralph Lauren etc. indicate clearly which is actual merchandise and low quality outlet stuff.
The introduction of Black Friday annoys the bejaybers out of me. Obviously it makes sense in the US for retailers to try to boost sales in the traditionally dead day between Thanksgiving and the weekend, here it’s just absurd. It’s the equivalent of American off-licences expecting queues out the door on Holy Thursday.
You have to be smart and play the retailers at their own game. I remembered it from the previous years so we had a list ready. Everything on the list and nothing extra was bought that day and the week leading up to it if there was a black Friday event on in a particular shop. Saved a good 30%+ from the price they were 2 weeks previous on most things.
Same. Done it the last 2 years, what with 20% your shopping with the like s of asos and river island, I see black Friday as positive.
But you see mickmc the trick is to increase the prices a good month in advance, then fool the customer into thinking they’re getting a bargain by reducing them back down to the price they were before. So to really see if you’re getting additional value you need to be looking at the prices at the end of the summer/start of autumn. Not trying to burst your bubble, but retailers are well known for using these tricks.
You have me paranoid now Fiona. Just spend the last 20 mins check out price. Still think I beat them this Christmas at least.
I waited outside a shop for a dress I wanted. I knew the price that it was before black Friday. The shop took €2 off the dress. What a massive save there (not)
Can we not just do our own thing and stop copying everything the Americans do?? They are hardly role models for the planet. Sticking their noses into every other countries (with oil) business. Allowing wing nuts like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin run for government positions and lets not forget that almost half of them think the world is only 6000 years old!!!. Lets just be Irish FFS.
And rip the consumer off. That’s what happened before you had International stores in Ireland.
They had done a programme on BBC before black Friday, and every store had up’ed their prices in the weeks leading up to it. After the reduction for black Friday, some products were even more expensive than the original price.
Honestly, did people really give up their lives in 1916 so that 100 years later others could make lists to avoid being ripped off on Black Friday?
We are at the heart of Europe now
#black fridays matter
It’s all the same shops though…and consumers only have X amount of money to spend.
Well the January sales this year was crap compared to previous years. Nothing in the shops. All the stores that took part in Black Friday report a bumper year. The one’s that didn’t like Next say profits are down.
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