What Do Consumers Expect From Black Friday?

Interest in Black Friday in Turkey is expected to increase even more this year. According to the “Black Friday, Consumer Shopping Behaviors” research conducted by global strategy and marketing consultancy company Simon-Kucher & Partners, 10 out of 9 consumers in Turkey say they will definitely shop on Black Friday. In the light of rising prices, consumers have increased their search for promotions and focused their purchases on the most suitable deals. Accordingly, for the biggest discount day of the year, it plans to increase its budgets by 35 to 75 percent compared to last year.

The countdown has begun for Black Friday, the biggest sale day of the year, which will take place on November 26 this year. "Black Friday", which is called "Legendary Friday", "Wonderful Friday", "Awaited Friday" in Turkey, is the unofficial name of the Friday following Thanksgiving in the United States. Black Friday, which is also accepted as the beginning of the pre-Christmas shopping period, continues its existence as a shopping day known all over the world, including Turkey. Black Friday, where attractive offers are offered in both physical and online stores, will take place this year under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it was last year. So, what do consumers expect from Black Friday, which will take place on November 26?

Global strategy and marketing consultancy company Simon-Kucher & Partners sought the answer to this question this year, as it does every year. With the research “Black Friday, Consumer Shopping Behaviors”, he investigated the expectations of consumers from the biggest sale day of the year and how they will act today, while questioning the impact of the pandemic on consumer behavior.

Awareness reached 100 percent

According to the research, the awareness of Black Friday in Turkey has reached 100 percent. 88 percent of consumers in Turkey, who are highly aware of Black Friday, say that they will definitely shop during the discount period. Last year, 69 percent of the respondents stated that they would shop. The research reveals that interest not only in Black Friday, but also in Cyber ​​Monday, the discount day on the Monday after Black Friday, is increasing. While 2020 percent of the participants stated that they knew about Cyber ​​Monday in 34, this rate reached 2021 percent in 49.

Budgets increased for the discount period

As for the categories in which consumers will shop the most on Black Friday… According to the research, which reveals the preferences of women and men, beauty and care, fashion and accessories are at the forefront of the categories in which women will most likely benefit from discount opportunities.

In men's preferences, electronics, small appliances and fashion products are in the top three. The budget allocated for Black Friday also seems to have increased significantly this year. The research reveals that compared to 2020, it has increased by 35 to 75 percent, differentiated by category. Consumers' interest in promotions in Turkey continues as a rising trend, and consumers aim to shift their budgets to the right opportunities and achieve the highest value for their spending. When we look at the category breakdown, there are 75 percent budget increases for electronic goods, 70 percent for beauty care products, 58 percent for children's products and toys, 53 percent for fashion products and 50 percent for fashion and lifestyle accessories.

Critical change in consumer behavior

Another striking result of the research is that 84 percent of consumers explain that their shopping habits have changed due to COVID-19. In this context, consumers explain that they do more online shopping and that their shopping is directed towards domestic consumption.

60 percent of the participants state that they prefer to do their grocery shopping online, and 54 percent of them prefer to do their shopping other than grocery shopping online. When we look at the global scale, for example, 66 percent of the participants in the United States and 65 percent of the participants in the United Kingdom state that they turn to the online channel for grocery shopping. When the rates are analyzed, it is said that Turkey has found its place among the countries with increasing online channel preferences. While consumption habits change during the pandemic, the consumer's tendency towards online shopping is accelerating.

“Income can be increased with good pricing”

Okan Çetintürk, Director of Simon-Kucher & Partners Istanbul Office, stated that the research provides valuable data especially on consumers' view of discounts and their expectations from discounts, underlining that many brands have frequent discount days today and states that care should be taken in this regard. Çetintürk shares his views on how to act especially in pricing: “It is more important than ever for companies to be much closer to their consumers in this period, to carefully consider the criteria they attach importance to during the purchase along with their channel and brand preferences, and to measure their willingness to pay at frequent intervals. Even in times of high discount expectation such as Black Friday, brands should target a promotional strategy and pricing policy focused on net profit. For this, shifting the increasing demand to products that will increase the bottom line, discount rates and discount types, market share, basket enlargement, awareness, etc. should be determined in line with its strategic objectives such as And it is very critical to make detailed performance measurement in each promotion period and to transfer good working promotion scenarios to corporate memory by multiplexing.”

“Avoid price wars”

Simon-Kucher & Partners Istanbul Office Senior Advisor Pırıl Öncel also talks about other actions that brands should take during big discount periods like Black Friday: “Many brands can increase their revenue per customer by focusing on an excellent multi-channel customer experience. Managing cross-channel promotion intensity is important. Income can be diversified by upselling and cross-selling. By evaluating the willingness of consumers to pay, new product categories suitable for their willingness to pay can be created. Promotions should be implemented wisely. Especially in this period when consumers expect more and more discounts, the effect of promotions on profitability should be well calculated while preparing promotions. Companies should avoid getting into price wars. It should not be forgotten that the long-term cost of price wars will be enormous.”