Black Friday 2019: trends and buying behavior

Black Friday is considered one of the biggest shopping events of the year, a worldwide phenomenon that in a short time has revolutionized the purchasing behavior of consumers and that in 2019, in Italy, it will move the record amount of 2 billion euros.

This black day of shopping, which this year falls on November 29th, just three weeks before Christmas, will be the perfect time to buy most of the Christmas gifts. From a strategic point of view, many companies have moved in this direction, extending the Black Friday offers and promotions also in the period before or immediately after, up to Cyber ​​Monday.

Among the most popular merchandise sectors, consumer electronics continue to dominate, followed by fashion items and household appliances, with sellers increasingly focusing on the promotion of premium products.

Black Friday: how consumer behavior change

Compared to the past, consumers are more aware and accustomed to enjoying favorable prices, not only during the awaited Black Friday but throughout the entire month of November.

What are consumers looking for? Comfort but above all convenient and easily accessible purchases. In this sense, digital solutions can effectively respond to these needs, regardless of the way in which the consumer chooses to order, pay and receive the purchased products.

Consumers are generally more experienced and spend a lot of time researching before concluding purchases. The trust in a brand, a seller or more simply in a particular product model, goes through the consultation of online reviews, which becomes an almost obligatory ritual. In fact, over 70% of purchases are driven by word-of-mouth and feedbacks, which acquire much more value if they come from a third-party website.

Online Shopping vs Offline

Online shopping therefore weighs heavily on traditional shopping, thanks to a more comfortable, flexible shopping experience and better prices.

In 2019, more than half of consumers (around 54%) will buy online, thus marking the definitive overtaking of e-commerce on the physical stores. Despite the negative trend, physical stores are still a long way from extinction, but it is clear that retailers need to renew themselves and experiment with new sales strategies, based on omnichannel shopping models.

Integrating the strengths of the online and offline, in order to make every shopping experience unique and enjoyable, seems to be the right solution to face this trend reversal. Each company will therefore be called to overcome important technological and organizational challenges to implement these changes.