‘For the first time in Spain, online sales will account for more than half of all Black Friday revenues.’ For Gerard Costa, an associate professor in the Department of Marketing at ESADE, that is the big difference this year compared to the ‘modest’ campaigns at the start of this phenomenon in the country, ‘about seven years ago’, when they could not be compared to their counterparts in the United States. Today, they can, ‘thanks to omnichannel retailing, which makes it possible not only to sell to large retail platforms, but also to other big brands that took their first steps offline. Nowadays, you see something in the store, and you buy it online.’

However, it is not only brands that have evolved; small businesses have also adapted. As Costa explained, these establishments ‘used to advocate, above all, the post-holiday sale beginning on 7 January. However, the traditional channel has adapted without any problems and clearly sees the advantages.’ According to the ESADE professor, these advantages are twofold: ‘avoiding stock-outs in the middle of the Christmas season and helping to predict consumer demand for a series of products’. In quantitative terms, Costa pointed to another positive this year: ‘Confidence has increased and spending will grow another 10% compared to 2016.’

From early holiday shopping to ‘self-gifting’

The ESADE expert recalled the origin of Black Friday in the United States – ‘the day after Thanksgiving’ – and clarified that the campaigns in that country have also evolved. ‘At this point, we can talk about Black November, that is, discounts throughout the month, and new product categories subject to special promotions’, Costa said. ‘At first, it was appliances at Media Markt, which you bought in advance for Christmas. Now we have Walmart opening at 4 pm on Thanksgiving Thursday itself, and half the purchases are people indulging themselves.’

Paradoxically, this latter trend had already taken off in Spain, where ‘going shopping is part of our culture and we have so thoroughly made Black Friday our own that we are the second country in Europe in terms of purchases on these dates, behind only the United Kingdom’. All that remains, the ESADE professor said, is to adopt the latest trend that seems to be emerging on the other side of the Atlantic, ‘Super Saturday, the Saturday before Christmas’.

A unique opportunity?

On the other side of the coin is Bart de Langhe, also an associate professor in the Department of Marketing at ESADE and an expert in data science, for whom ‘Black Friday and Cyber Monday are basically a price game’. ‘It’s like telling consumers that there is a great opportunity to buy a good product at its lowest price’, he continued, ‘even when that’s not true. In fact, consumers have more information than ever about the evolution of prices, so, from that perspective, they shouldn’t feel so influenced by these types of campaigns.’

‘The problem is that many consumers believe they are dealing with a unique opportunity they will not see again’, explained De Langhe, who believes it is essential that, ‘in addition to information about price history, consumers also be provided with keys to how your mind works when you are making a purchase decision’. ‘Sometimes, it’s worth postponing a purchase for one or even two months’, the ESADE professor concluded.