The 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' concepts have only recently reached Irish shores but according to research by eCommerce partner Webloyalty in conjunction with retail research experts Conlumino, Irish consumers will spend an estimated €109 million on Black Friday(November 27) this year, a 31% increase on last year.
Consumer research in this report is based on a survey conducted with an Irish nationally representative poll of consumers. 1,508 consumers were interviewed during September and early October 2015 and questioned about their festive shopping plans and events such as Black Friday. The research, which examines spending and shopping trends for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, finds that the occasion made popular in the United States, is now a firm date in the Irish retail calendar.
Half of those surveyed (51%) say they intend on making use of Black Friday to do some online shopping, which is an increase on last year when only 44% agreed with that statement. There has been a similar increase in the popularity of Cyber Monday with 33% saying they intend to shop on that day compared to 23% last year. Seven out of every ten people (71%) claim they will buy at least one gift for Christmas on either of the two days.
The most popular items purchased by those who got involved last year were electronic goods (68%), home appliances (45%), clothing, footwear and accessories (45%), and homewares (34%).
However, these figures may be slightly skewed by the fact that 59% say they either brought forward or delayed a purchase they would have otherwise made in order to receive a discount. The research also finds that shoppers expect significant discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 64% say they would expect discounts of up to 40% and 16% would expect discounts in excess of 50%.
Commenting on the research Guy Chiswick, Managing Director of Webloyalty Northern Europe said, “Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland and the UK, but it’s evident from the research that both are continuing to rise in popularity with shoppers. Black Friday spending in Ireland is set to rise by almost a third this year. This is largely down to more people shopping thanks to growing consumer confidence and more spend on big ticket items on that day such as electronic goods. With attractive discounts a key driver of sales on Black Friday, retailers will need to relatively deep discounts or perceived added value to drive footfall in-store on the day.”
