This year, the date for Black Friday is Black Friday is set for 27 November. This period, which keeps retailers on their toes before its launch, will end on 30 November with Cyber Monday.
As the analysis of previous years' results shows results of previous years, the interest of the French in this annual event continues to grow. For example, the queries "when is Black Friday" have increased by 51% in 2019 compared to 2018. We also see that the shopping basket is 2.7 times higher on Black Friday than on a normal Friday.
The COVID-19 containment has undoubtedly reshuffled the deck to the point of representing a new seasonal peak on the leading Black Friday categories with demand now higher than in 2019.
The 2020 edition will be marked by the acceleration of the current digital transformation which is resulting in an increase in the share of e-commerce, new consumer expectations regarding delivery times, stocks and promotions, but also in Christmas shopping that could be up to two months earlier this year. Indeed, this year we see Amazon going on the offensive even earlier with an Early Black Friday that started on 26 October and will end on 19 November.
Key figures for Black Friday 2019
Ahead of Spain and Italy, France is one of the European countries showing a growing interest in Black Friday. In 2019, in addition to significantly more searches on the date of this event than in the previous year, 48% of consumers waited for this period to buy the desired product spotted in the previous months.
As the data shows, queries in the top retail categories have been growing at 5% per annum over the last few years, with the largest increase recorded for the Home and Garden category. It can also be seen that these top categories have remained at a high level throughout the period, demonstrating that it is essential for advertisers tofor advertisers to be present at the scouting stage of consumers.
The figures for 2019 at the weekend also speak for themselves 6 billion was spent in our country, which is 31% more than in 2018. On the brand side, 60% of the top 100 retailers were already launching their offers two days before the official date. For retailers, Black Friday is a real opportunity not to be missed.
Purchasing behaviour for 2020
In these uncertain times, consumer trends are more important than ever. As we announced at the beginning of this article, COVID-19 is having an impact on our purchasing behaviour and is causing an acceleration of the digital transformation. For this new edition of Black Friday, an increase in e-commerce sales sales is expected because, as a study conducted by Wells Fargo indicates 70% of consumers do not plan to go to a shop.
For brands, these new habits represent a challenge to retain French shoppers who are now more demanding, more volatile and on the lookout for bargains. The situation could therefore push consumers to start their Christmas shopping much earlier this year.
Our expert advice
For a successful Black Friday, it is ideal to plan your campaigns at least four weeks in advance so that they can complete their learning phase for the day. We also recommend that you prepare your selection of promotional products in advance, ensure stock availability and customer service responsiveness so that you are ready for the launch.
In view of the health crisis, reassure your customers about the protection measures put in place in your company. While some of them will remain loyal to 100% digital platforms, with home delivery without going to a physical shop, others will prefer to pick up their product in shop, which will force you to favour drive to store via Google LIA or Local campaigns, for example.
Also, this period of high traffic will allow you to recover a large customer database that you can retain and retarget afterwards. This rich audience will give you the opportunity to go and find similar users, therefore potential customers.
Happy Black Friday to all!
