Sales season.. Marketing trick or opportunity can be taken ‎advantage of?‎

Companies used to offer discounts on their products at the end of each year, on several occasions, including Black Friday, Internet Monday, Singles Day, Prime Day, where companies show fierce competition, which raises a question about the benefits that the consumer reaps, and whether Just a marketing trick or does it provide real benefits to consumers?!.

The sales made on Black Friday are often seen as a basic test of a country’s overall economic health and a way in which economists gauge the confidence of the average American when it comes to discretionary spending, according to Investopedia.

Some investors and analysts view the Black Friday numbers as a way to gauge the overall health of the entire retail industry. Others downplay the idea that Black Friday has any real potential for predicting the fourth quarter for stock markets as a whole. Instead, they point out that it is only conducive to very short-term gains or losses.

However, in general, the stock market can be affected by having extra days off for Thanksgiving or Christmas. They experience increased trading activity and higher returns the day before a long weekend, a phenomenon known as the holiday effect or weekend effect where many traders are looking to take advantage of this seasonal period.

Despite the benefits that people may get from discounts, they have a huge effect in getting people to buy things that they may not need in the first place. Thus, it may cause overconsumption

Record sales:

Consumers spent $9.12 billion on online shopping during Black Friday this year, according to Adobe, which tracks sales on retailers’ websites. Adobe said overall online sales for the day after Thanksgiving were up 2.3% year-over-year, with electronics a major contributor, with online sales up 221% compared to an average day in October. Toys were another popular category with shoppers, up 285%, and exercise equipment, up 218%.

Postpaid:

Many consumers adopted flexible payment plans on Black Friday as they continue to grapple with rising prices and inflation. Buy now pay later payments were up 78% compared to last week, starting November 19, and “buy now pay later” revenue was up 81% for the same period. Some of the year’s hottest items included game consoles, Apple MacBooks, Dyson products, and games like Fortnite, Roblox, Bluey, Funko Pop and Disney Encanto, according to the report.

Black Friday shoppers also broke a record for mobile orders, with 48% of online sales made on smartphones, up from 44% last year. The record spending follows a strong day of Thanksgiving shopping, as consumers brought in an all-time high of $5.29 billion online, up 2.9% year over year. Typically, shoppers spend about $2 billion to $3 billion online each day, according to Adobe.

Excessive consumption:

French platforms boycotted “Black Friday” for promoting the idea of ​​excessive consumption, thus excluding themselves from a day that is considered one of the most profitable days for companies.

For the first time, the French branch of “eBay” will not provide any discounts on modern products during “Black Friday”, despite expectations that point to the great success that this global trade event will achieve.

“Aris Interactive” company, which specializes in studying markets at the beginning of the week, reported that more than half of the French intend to buy items during “Black Friday”, while 30% refuse to do so, and 15% of the French did not make their decision in this regard.

The “eBay” group, the French branch, studied well the financial losses that would be incurred as a result of its decision, but “in the long run, it expects to achieve growth” in sales of used products, as Deputy General Manager Sarah Al-Tayeb explained in her interview with AFP.

In the fashion sector, similar initiatives are emerging, such as that of the “Vestiere Collective”, which is a platform for selling used products. And it has banned the sale of 27 brands that sell fast fashion goods “(“Shein” and “Top Shop”…).

Other sites specializing in e-commerce in France, including the “Back Market” and “Luponcoin”, have launched marketing campaigns promoting the idea that “Black Friday” is approved by them throughout the year, through their sites dedicated to selling used goods.

This step was praised by associations, including “Extinction Rebellion”, which welcomed this “step that illustrates the companies’ view of the “Black Friday” event.

Isabelle, one of its members, said, “Just talking about the boycott is a promotional advantage for brands, and in addition to encouraging the reduction of energy consumption and natural resources, it also contributes to raising awareness.”