How did it go overall?
Black Friday has once more proven to be the time of the year with the highest weekly revenue in many countries – standing at double the size of an average week. Although consumer confidence remains at a lower level, sales in week 47, when Black Friday took place, were highest in the following countries: EU5*, Hungary, Czech Republic, Türkiye, Russia, and Brazil. All these had an uplift of 104% versus an average week in 2023. Nevertheless, the total revenue slightly declined by -2.9 % versus Black Friday period last year.
Which sectors and categories performed well, which not so strongly?
Drilling down into the results, Black Friday this year revealed notable differences in sectors’ individual performance. Consumer Electronics (CE) dropped by –18 % in revenue compared to Black Friday last year, largely due to TV. This category is already under pressure. However, there is also the fact that last year’s Black Friday took place at the same time as the World Cup in Qatar, which boosted sales of televisions during this period.
Interestingly, many of the hero categories this Black Friday compared to sales in the average week throughout the year are entertainment devices such as VR/AR glasses, Bluetooth Speakers and even TVs showing one of the highest uplifts compared to average week sales, despite the Year-over-Year losses. The winning sector was Small Domestic Appliances, which returned Black Friday growth in line with the annual trend. Deep Fryers outpaced many categories with a big revenue uplift against the average week in 2023.
The desire for premium – at a low price
The driving factor behind Black Friday sales this year was consumers looking for premium products on which they could save money. Many categories experienced an elevation in the average sales price in week 47 compared to their average weekly sales price. This indicates that more and more consumers have turned to products from the premium segment. At the same time the number of sales of products with a price discount of 15 % of more increased by 2 percentage points versus last year, to stand at 30 % of total sales.
So, discounts undeniably triggered sales this Black Friday, especially for more premium products – thanks to consumers perception that they can save more money in absolute terms by buying premium items on price discount.
Overall, Black Friday has once again proven to be a good event to drive demand and increase sales. There was a slight decrease in overall revenue compared to last year. But this period is still extremely important for consumers. Purchases are planned to save money but still be able to buy high-quality products.
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Based on a new partnership between GfK GmbH, gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH and IFA Management GmbH, we provide regular information on market developments and trends in the consumer electronics and home appliances industry. Interesting insights, current market figures, consumer trends and much more will be professionally prepared for you from the sources of the three expert partners.
*EU5: France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain
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