Black Friday tripled major stores’ turnover

Retail stores and chains that opted to offer special discounts on November 25, Black Friday, have reported up to 500 percent increases in turnover compared to a regular Friday at the end of November.

The success of the adoption of this modern US tradition by more Greek stores than in previous years was rather unexpected, as it took place during a period when disposable incomes have dropped considerably, while the performance of retail commerce has otherwise been disappointing since the start of 2016.

Retailers explain that consumers displayed symptoms of retail fever on the day and in many cases appeared to be making purchases, no matter how small, simply because prices were lower than usual.

Representatives of chains and department stores spoke to Kathimerini about turnover increases last Friday of between 50 and 500 percent, while on average the increase was estimated at 200 percent (i.e. consumers spent three times as much as usual).

Interestingly, one leading chain in the sector of electrical and electronic appliances, which offered discounts without advertising them as Black Friday offers, saw its sales not only break its daily record of the last 12 months, set on December 31, 2015, but actually rise to double that amount.

Many smaller stores were swept up by the momentum of Black Friday – even at the last minute. “Consumers in central shopping districts appeared to be more prepared than store owners, mainly due to the promotional campaigns of the big commercial chains,” the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) said in a statement.