Black Friday catching on in NZ
Kiwis spent $219m on that day last year, up 32.8pc from the Friday a week earlier
If you haven’t started your Christmas shopping yet, tomorrow could be the day. Tomorrow is Black Friday, the day after America’s Thanksgiving, a retail phenomenon catching on in New Zealand where retailers offer discounts — it is regarded as the first day of the Christmas shopping season, and followed by Cyber Monday, another discount day.
The name Black Friday refers to shops’ accounts going from red to ‘in the black’.
A survey by price comparison website PriceSpy reveals Black Friday is popular among Kiwis, with 53 per cent of those surveyed intending to shop in stores tomorrow and 47 per cent intending to nab deals online.
New Zealanders spent $219 million on Black Friday last year, up 32.8 per cent from the Friday a week earlier, according to Paymark, and the day was 188 per cent more popular than normal Fridays during the months of September and October last year.
Around 35 per cent of Kiwis say they intend to buy something on Black Friday, and 70 per cent say they are looking to spend up to $300, according to the survey.
Most Kiwis intend to bag discounts at The Warehouse tomorrow, or at online behemoth Amazon. JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leeming and Farmers are other popular picks.
Around 20 per cent of Kiwis expect savings of up to 30 per cent on Black Friday and 42 per cent expect savings of between 30 and 60 per cent, the survey shows.
Sixty per cent of Kiwis want to nab savings on gadgets and electronics, 39 per cent on fashion and clothing and 33 per cent on
What appears to be a really good percentage saving from a retailer on Black Friday may not be.
Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, PriceSpy
healthy and beauty products.
While Black Friday offers savings, Price Spy NZ country manager Liisa Matinvesi- Bassett said consumers should be aware of price increases ahead of Black Friday to make discounts appear more appealing.
“What appears to be a really good percentage saving from a retailer on Black Friday may not be. This is because some products receive a price hike ahead of a big sale day, so the percentage discount appears to be more attractive than what it actually is,” Matinvesi- Bassett said.
The popularity of Black Friday in New Zealand and Britain has grown exponentially in the last three years. Since 2015, the biggest overall percentage growth has come from New Zealand — it has grown nearly twice as much as that of Britain.
Linda Trainer, general manager of retail at Kiwi Property — the company which operates NZ’s largest mall Sylvia Park, said last year on Black Friday 25 per cent more people visited the mall when compared to a normal Friday.
“Over the four-day period last year we had over 600,000 people through our centre. It’s very popular and the retailers are really keen to take that opportunity.”