Gone are the days of paying full price. The trend of second-hand purchases has paved the way for a new generation who prefer discounted purchases, waiting for special days such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with the same excitement as Christmas morning.
As consumers are becoming increasingly generous with their holiday spending over the Thanksgiving weekend, Black Friday is becoming more glittery and glamorous. This one-day bargain event shines so brightly that it could even be renamed ‘Diamond Friday’.
The best Black Friday 2023 deals beat previous years' discounts
In the United States of America, last Friday’s shopping generated a turnover of 9.8 billion dollars in online sales, according to Adobe Analytics estimates. This record beat Adobe’s own estimates of $9.6 billion and is 7.5 per cent above the 2022 performance.
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Which was the most browsed platform this year? Amazon emerged as the clear winner, overtaking even TikTok’s new shopping service – and the Black Friday they had announced in September to try and undermine Amazon itself.
With their analysis covering over one trillion visits to U.S. e-commerce sites, 18 product categories and 100 million unique items, Adobe estimated that the most widely searched products online during Black Friday were various types of toys, televisions, smartwatches and earphones.
Online fashion shopping platforms also offered big Black Friday deals, with reductions of up to 30% to avoid spoiling the end-of-season sales, which usually reach 50% off.
Now that Black Friday is officially over, we can chart the most purchased goods and the satisfaction level of the players involved. While end consumers were delighted to grab some luxury products at heavily reduced prices, industry rumours suggest that brands were not as happy. They now consider Black Friday a somewhat ‘dangerous’ event for their brand image and reputation. For example, it may be acceptable to discount technology products, but a Made In Italy leather bag has a different timeless value. Don’t you agree?
Angelo Ruggeri
Journalist and Master Course Tutor & Fashion Styling Course Leader, Milan