Black Friday: Online retailers, but also shops in the shopping streets lure on this day with super special offers. On the other hand, customers groan under crises and price increases. We asked economic researchers Christoph Teller and Ernst Gittenberger of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz how this all works.
“crown”: There used to be summer and winter sales. Now you have the feeling that there is always a discount day or a promotion week.
Christopher Teller: As you say, it’s getting more and more. Winter sales used to be regulated. My father was a chamberlain and always had to make sure everyone had the same conditions. The trade also longs for that, because nowadays everyone destroys everything for each other.
Ernest Gittenberger: This is a matter of the “first mover”. Whoever starts has the longest action time. And of course everyone has to go along with it. On the other hand, we also know from the customers in the study that there is a habituation effect.
Counter: The “actionitis”, in technical terms, these are the very frequent, frequent sales promotions, make trading high in the short term and sick in the long term. People come, you have to give something away, a bargain, and the price down. That makes you sick, because the premium margins are shrinking. Especially now, like the Amen in prayer, the energy bill is coming. And then of course you need the profit in any case to be able to settle it all. The second is that customers get used to it, as my colleague Gittenberger says. The promotional price becomes the regular price in people’s minds. And the normal price then seems so high that no one wants to pay more.
When did this development start?
Gittenberger: We imported Black Friday without the associated holiday. Thanksgiving is not a holiday for us. And that was traditionally the starting signal for the Christmas business in the US. With us, this trend has spread across the channel as an online trend. It is still an online story, although it is increasingly being picked up by physical retailers. According to our figures, the share of Austrians who want to use Black Friday is 34 percent. The paradox is that although we start Black Friday with the first shopping Saturday, this discount phase is almost never used to buy Christmas presents. You buy it for yourself.
So Black Friday and Cyber Days are actually disrupting the Christmas business?
Counter: The Christmas business is like a tsunami, it is building more and more. And finally, it is stationary retail that benefits from this. Because December 24 isn’t over yet. The most important week comes next with the vouchers. Then you enter the real store and so-called group purchases happen: you buy a pair of trousers and add a blouse. That’s why we always say: it’s not over until it’s over.
Do people spend money despite the current crises?
Gittenberger: In September the mood was still very bad. The rule for the people was save, save, save. 30 percent said they would shop less. Nearly two-thirds emphasized watching promotions and making sure they buy products that are cheaper. Now the whole thing is defused a bit by buying presents. The share of savers in the Christmas business is now significantly smaller.
Counter: Buying gifts has its own characteristics and follows a completely different logic: I don’t buy anything for myself, I buy something for someone else. And that is taught, loved and demanded because it is a social compulsion. The share of Austrians who want to save on gifts is decreasing. And it will become less and less.
How can this trend be explained?
Counter: That has a lot to do with emotions. You don’t get a gift for the kids like a liter of milk. You have to come up with something. Gifts are there to show appreciation and strengthen relationships. And that brings us back to online and offline. Because with offline in-store, the buying itself becomes part of the gift, because it shows that you put time and effort into it.
Gittenberger: We also conducted our own research specifically into donations: who usually saves? Here we see the following: the lower the household income, the greater the proportion of consumers who want or need to save. This year it will penetrate deep into the middle class.
Counter: And if you’re not saving on gifts, you’ll have to save elsewhere. This is called hybrid buying behaviour. This means that if I buy expensive stuff on the one hand, I have to save elsewhere. So you see two different consumer behaviors in the same person. The reciprocal gift-giving will not stop. And the children or partners also receive the same amount as last year.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
