The discount battle surrounding Black Friday on November 24 has also established itself in Austria and is lasting longer and longer. Not everyone is happy about this: consumer activists warn of traps and fake shops (see video above), NGOs criticize textile waste and poor working conditions in the South.
Black Friday comes from the US and is the first Friday after Thanksgiving. This year it falls on November 24. The weekend after Thanksgiving is considered the start of Christmas activities in the United States, and online retail is increasingly following suit with Cyber Monday. In recent years, the discount battle has also spread to Europe and therefore also to Austria.
The benefits of special shopping days are considered controversial both in the retail sector and for consumers. According to studies, more people in this country go shopping on Black Friday, but the question is whether they save anything. The tempting discounts are sometimes outright fraud and fake shops are also booming, consumer advocates warn. “Criminals are also using Black Friday to steal consumers’ money and data with fraudulent fake shopping offers,” the Vienna Chamber of Labor warned.
Consumer protection: marketing tricks etc.
You should not be influenced by marketing tricks such as countdowns and limited quotas. Moreover, additional costs such as shipping costs would not be an underestimated part of the costs, says Christina Gruber, consumer attorney for the Chamber of Labor. Retailers, in turn, see a problem in the fact that consumers get used to promotional prices and then experience the usual prices as too high. Real sales growth and profit growth cannot be expected, says Ernst Gittenberger of the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz.
The trade association expects a turnover of 450 million euros for the coming shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Fairtrade: “Tendency to hunt for bargains”
For organizations like Fairtrade, Black Friday emphasizes “the rapid pace of consumption and the desire for bargain hunting.” The costs would be borne by the people who produce the clothes and textiles. The effects are noticeable in the environment and climate. According to surveys, clothing tops the list of items purchased on Black Friday.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
