Special offers: Between discount and risk – What is important on Black Friday

30, 40 or even 50 percent: Price reductions around Black Friday are hard to miss. These are the days when customers in Germany can hardly save themselves from special offers. The so-called Black Friday falls on November 29th this year. What do you need to know about the big discount campaign?

What happens on Black Friday?

On Black Friday, many retailers offer numerous products at reduced prices. In recent years it has become established that special offers are offered in the days and weeks beforehand. Some stores also advertise with other names such as Black Week or Black Deals. Black Friday, whose name has several possible explanations, has its origins in the USA. There, the bridge day after Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, marks the start of the Christmas business.

How good are the discounts?

According to studies, the average “discount rate” for consumers is six percent, says Markus Münter, professor at the Saarland University of Technology and Economics. “The crazy thing is that some actually save 15 or 20 percent and others even pay more – triggered by a lack of price transparency brought about by the companies.” For some products, a comparison with previous prices is not possible because they are only offered in this specific week and are not otherwise available.

According to a representative survey by management consultancy PwC, only discounts of at least 50 percent are considered a good offer. Customers have therefore become more demanding. Last year, items with a 38 percent discount were perceived as bargains.

What do customers need to consider?

The Rhineland-Palatinate consumer advice center urges caution on Black Friday. “Not everything is a real bargain,” says lawyer Andrea Steinbach from the Digital and Consumer Law Department. For example, it is a “little cheat” to compare the special price with the manufacturer’s recommended retail price (RRP). “Hardly any dealer charges the high RRP anymore. Great discounts then quickly disappear.”

Studies by large comparison platforms have found average discounts of around five or six percent. “I don’t want to downplay this discount, but it still falls short of consumers’ expectations,” says Steinbach. “You should therefore check prices in advance. This way you can be sure that it is a real bargain on Black Friday.”

Price comparisons in at least two search engines could also be quite worthwhile. “Because, as tests have shown, there is no one best search engine,” emphasizes the expert. Only if a special offer cannot be undercut by searching in two price search engines could it be worth clicking on the “Buy” button.

How popular are the action days in Germany?

There is great interest in the Black Friday discount campaigns. 46 percent of online shoppers want to hunt for bargains, which is three percentage points less than in 2023. This comes from a survey by the Cologne retail research institute IFH, which was carried out on behalf of the German Retail Association (HDE).

According to the PwC survey, electronics and technology products as well as clothing are particularly popular. On average, customers want to spend 277 euros, compared to 281 euros last year.

For some, however, the days surrounding Black Friday are obviously losing their appeal. Surveys by Kantar and IFH show: Many people say they don’t need them or use them less often because they can shop cheaply all year round on portals like Temu and Shein.

How important is Black Friday for retail?

In addition to the Advent Saturdays, the sales days surrounding Black Friday are among the most important of the year for retailers in Germany. The HDE expects total sales of 5.9 billion euros this year. That’s about the same as last year.

However, price competition also puts pressure on retailers. Companies can ill afford to ignore Black Friday and not take part. However, this is not the only problem. Black Friday anticipates valuable Christmas sales, but sales fall significantly in the weeks before and after the promotional days, says Gerrit Heinemann, retail expert from Niederrhein University. That’s why, apart from the food sector, no retailer can actually avoid Black Friday.

The high discounts allow companies to significantly increase their sales, but this is often associated with a significant loss of margin. In some cases this even leads to losses, says Heinemann. According to a study by management consultancy Kearney, retailers in Germany lose up to 300 million euros in profit due to incorrect pricing strategies during discount campaigns.