2023-11-24 06:16:00
HAS Unless you live in a cave, you’ve probably already heard of Black Friday. Since American brands, such as Amazon, exported to France in 2010, this commercial event originating from the United States, a plethora of French brands and distributors participate every year: Darty, Boulanger, Fnac, Auchan… All compete in promotions on a number of items – fashion, household appliances, digital content subscriptions, cars, etc. – to attract as many customers as possible and increase their profits. And take the pulse of consumption a month before the end-of-year holidays.
Before rushing headlong into the crowd to take advantage of the latest Oled television at a knockdown price, here are the answers to five questions that you may still be asking yourself about Black Friday.
When is Black Friday?
Originally, when it was born in the United States in the 1960s, Black Friday took place on a single day: the day following the Thanksgiving holiday. This taking place on the fourth Thursday in November, Black Friday therefore fell on a Friday.
Since the Internet did not yet exist, promotions took place exclusively in stores. On the morning of that day, the opening of the shops gave rise to sometimes surreal scenes. Huge crowds of customers rushed to the stores so as not to miss the best offers. An employee of the Walmart distribution chain even died in 2008 in New York, crushed by a horde of 2,000 shoppers as he opened the doors.
In 2005, with the appearance of the Internet, the idea came to launch “Cyber Monday” three days after Friday to boost online sales. However, for several years, promotions have started several days before the initial date, including on the Internet.
Black Friday: where does the name come from?
For several years, a rumor has been circulating on social networks according to which the name dates back to black slave sales organized in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.e century. This is false information, as has been verified Factual AFPthe fact-checking section of Agence France-Presse.
Instead, American neuroscience researcher Bonnie Taylor-Blake suggests, on son blog Internet, two explanations for the true origin of the name. According to the first, it was from Black Friday that the annual accounting period of most American stores went from a loss to a profit. Accountants were accustomed to writing positive results in black ink and negative results in red ink, so the pages of the annual account books were covered in black.
But Bonnie Taylor-Blake believes that this explanation was in fact invented by American traders after the expression had been massively adopted, in order to give it a less pejorative connotation. Indeed, according to an article from Philadelphia Inquirer to which the American researcher refers, the days after Thanksgiving always gave rise to monster traffic jams, making traffic in downtown Philadelphia almost impossible, particularly for shopping. To the point that the local police nicknamed these Fridays “black Fridays”. The merchants would then have started to make promotions to encourage customers to come despite everything.
Black Friday: are the price drops really interesting?
Unlike sales periods, merchants are not allowed to sell at a loss during Black Friday. During this event, promotions are even, on average, all relative. According to the Idealo price comparator, they are -5% for smartphones, -13% for televisions, -10% for vacuum cleaners and -7% for women’s perfumes and sneakers.
However, Black Friday remains interesting if you cannot postpone your purchase until the winter sales period – for example, if you plan to buy a gift for the end-of-year holidays. Indeed, the prices of certain products, such as toys, rise sharply after Cyber Monday. Guest on BFMTV A few days ago, an Idealo communications manager took the example of a video game console. “On average, the price goes from 402 euros during Black Friday to 461 euros during Christmas week,” she said.
Black Friday: why is it so criticized, and by whom?
Several political figures in the government have criticized Black Friday for its consequences on the environment. Then Minister of Ecological Transition, current Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne declared, in 2019, that she saw “a frenzy of consumption where you are encouraged to buy products that you do not necessarily need”.
More recently, on November 14, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, made similar remarks: “I dream of a Green Friday where the story of sobriety, repair, reuse would be highlighted. honor as a counter-model of society. » The minister spoke on the occasion of the launch ofa communications campaign of Ademe, the ecological transition agency, to encourage the French to adopt more sober consumption patterns.
Among civil society too, voices are raised against this annual fair. Member companies of the network Green Friday are organizing, that Friday, in several cities in France, awareness-raising actions, such as workshops to learn how to repair household appliances. “Block Friday” demonstrations are organized by environmental collectives such as Extinction Rebellion. These civil disobedience actions consist of blocking shopping centers and warehouses linked to Amazon.
In addition to the environmental impact of Black Friday, Fraud Control warns of the risk of scams for online purchases. On son site Internet, she gives several tips so as not to be fooled. Among other things, be wary of messages like “only 3 left in stock” or “valid only for 48 hours”, and do not underestimate customs fees which can sometimes be high.
Black Friday: what volume of consumption is expected this year?
It’s a paradox: for 85% of French people, Black Friday rhymes with overconsumption, according to a study by Crédoc, the Research Center for the study and observation of living conditions. But for all that, the consumption figures continue to rise from year to year. In 2022, for fashion products alone, 5.8 million French people will make purchases during Black Friday (Friday to Sunday), according to the market research company Kantar Worldpanel. With an average basket of 67 euros and 15 million items sold, turnover rose to 389 million euros.
Kantar specifies that between 2017 and 2022, fashion spending during this three-day period increased by 22% while, for the month of December, it fell by 25% between 2015 and 2022. In terms of home equipment, this 802 million euros were spent in France during the last edition, according to another market research company, NielsenIQ.
This year again, consumption should be there. The same Crédoc study, which highlights the sensitivity of the French to environmental impact, estimates that 44% want to take advantage of promotions. According to an OpinionWay surveythey plan to spend 416 euros on average.
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