Anticipated more than sales and like the Christmas holidays, Black Friday has become a vital appointment for tech companies and retailers dedicated to consumer electronics. Even if all that glitters is not gold, because when you hit the top of the ladder then you have to come down. During the Covid-19 pandemic, online shopping reached stratospheric numbers, difficult to repeat in the future; after all, with businesses closed and people forced to stay at home, digital is the only solution for supplies.
That is why it is interesting to note that, according to various studies, consumer technology in 2023 has declined compared to the previous year. Both during the whole year and during the Black Friday period. According to GfK data, during the week of Black Friday in Italy, sales dropped by 11% compared to the same period in 2022. Total takings amounted to €438 million, which is, on average, more than 115% higher than the average week’s revenues throughout the year. Both trade in physical stores (-12%) and the online channel (10%) closed negatively. Looking at the product categories, down were purchases of smartphones (-2%), notebooks (-24%) and televisions (-26%), while dishwashers (+12%) and multifunctional printers (+3%) were more popular than in the past.
The reasons for the decline
One aspect often overlooked when analysing numbers alone is that the online market itself is eroding figures for Black Friday. The digital stores of the large electronics chains are full of bargains every day, with very attractive promotions for the purchase of phones, tablets, PCs, washing machines, refrigerators, TVs, soundbars and all other devices. The knowledge that you can make a purchase in line with your budget whenever you want, finding the solution by browsing 5-6 of the major sales sites impacts all the most relevant appointments, which remain central but tend to lose interest for those people who have no time or desire to monitor prices to save money. As with concerts, sports competitions and live shows, if everything is presented as a unique event, then there is no longer a unique event.
Another factor should be considered here: the constant widening of the Black Friday discount window. Ten years ago, bargains started and ended on a single day and the following Cyber Monday; then the previous day was added, then we moved to three days and shortly after to a whole week of promotions, while three and then four years ago, the timeframe was extended with discounts starting at the beginning of November and ending on Christmas Eve.
A couple of bargains to grab
With the need to increase sales volume, tech companies slash product prices to persuade people to click. An attitude that in part clashes with the need to safeguard the value of devices launched just three months earlier because it is to the detriment of those who bought the product during the first days of launch, spending several hundred euros more than the price proposed during Black Friday.
What is most interesting, however, is to point out good offers to readers. From MediaMarkt to Unieuro, Euronics, Boulanger and Argos, all major European electronics chains already offer an extensive list of Black Friday discounts, even though the fourth Friday of November is three weeks away. Among the many bargains, I would like to highlight two with enticing discounts: the MacBook Air 13‘’ with M2 chip and 256GB of memory for €899 at Unieuro and the promotions on the Honor online shop, with discounts of up to €1,000 on some top-of-the-range smartphones.
