German Christmas shoppers are getting ready for Black Friday. Many of them cannot wait for those shopping sprees to begin. They know what they want, but the amount of money they intend to spend is lower this year.
Berlin, November 15th, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — Germany has imported many ideas from the United States of America. One of the bad ones is this overly sweet, black and carbonated fluid with caffeine people consume a lot. Maybe they should rename it ‘Diabetes Express’. One of the good ideas from the U.S. is Black Friday. But the Germans changed the concept.
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Grapes and Tuna
Some 15 years ago, when this day of sales for Christmas shoppers came across the Atlantic Ocean, the American Black Friday was limited to offers in real world, physical stores. In Germany, on the other hand, online stores introduced it. Back then, they were not that strong yet, compared to those in the States, and needed something to get people’s attention. By now, Black Friday applies to all kinds of stores on both continents.
The big day takes place on November 25th., 2022. This basically is the time when people start panicking because they remember they need presents for Christmas or Hanukkah. No matter what is is, computers, game consoles, cell phones, toys, books or clothing, many vendors will have great deals in store for everyone. Apparently, Black Friday is not limited to potential presents anymore. Even the Lidl supermarket chain intends to offer deals. How about Black Friday grapes? Or Black Friday frozen pizza with tuna and onions?
Black Decade
Because Black Friday does not seem to be enough anymore, Black Week was invented. It begins on November 21st and ends on the 24th, on the eve of Black Friday. There are stores in Germany, including Saturn, a major consumer electronics chain, that already have blowout sales. This is supposed to continue all month long, which means they are following the Black Month concept. It is only a question of time until some retailer will introduce the Black Year or Black Decade sale, which means Black Century and Black Millennium will probably be next.
Experts are warning consumers. They should not just trust Black Friday signs and purchase anything they see, but rather do research first. Some deals may be sort of bad. Usually, there are vendors who pretend to have deals while they do not even change their prices at all. Others give customers 5-percent deals. The idea of Black Friday is to get much bigger rebates. In Germany, checking comparison portals such as Idealo may make sense.
Devices and Food
The very same portal just published the results of a poll it did. According to those, only 52 percent of all Germans intend to make use of Black Friday by shopping. Most respondents said they were interested in energy-saving devices and filling their pantries. More than 90 percent intend to shop mostly online. Another interesting result is the amount Germans want to spend this year. With an average of 280 Euro (289.80 U.S. Dollars or 246 Pounds Sterling), it is significantly lower than last year, because of the ongoing multiple crises.