Here is Black Friday, in the era Covid wins the web

The most awaited day of the year for shoppers has finally arrived.

which, from a typically American custom, has now become a fixed appointment in Italy too.

This year, however, the pandemic has given us its own, profoundly changing its connotations and transforming what was a day of pre-Christmas shopping around the already decorated streets of the cities into yet another moment to pass in front of the screens of tablets and PCs.

The forced closure of shops in the red and orange areas and of shopping centers, galleries and department stores over the weekend also in yellow regions such as Lazio inevitably pushes towards online shopping, so much so that - according to Confesercenti - 83 million euros in retail sales. days are moving from physical stores to the web.

The calculation is based on the days of the entire week because another of the characteristics of 2020 is the formalization of the black week, already experienced in some cases in past years and which has become a must this year, to cope with weekend stops. and therefore diluting the purchase opportunities as much as possible over time.

For Fismo, the association of Confesercenti fashion companies, spending on clothing and accessories is the one that is undergoing the most significant transfer, with 25 million euros per day of spending by families diverted to the internet.

But the impact is also significant on games and toys for children and young people (20 million euros transferred to e-commerce every day), technology and household appliances (15 million per day for both sectors), and books (about 300 thousand euro per day).

Also based on data from the Compass Observatory, the Mediobanca Group's consumer credit company, among Italians who intend to shop for Black Friday, 84% are ready to buy online and only 42% in stores.

According to the central director of Marketing and Innovation Luigi Pace, there is still something good because the appointment "can help the country to restart consumption, especially in view of Christmas. The Italians - he explains - have a desire for normality and do not want give up putting gifts under the tree ".

However, the available budget is affected by the overall decline in consumption.

This year, Compass still calculates, it is equal to 284 euros, down 7% compared to 2019.

Faced with the overwhelming power of the web, the fear is that at this rate, thousands of shops are progressively forced to close.

"We presented a complaint to the Antitrust to report the serious distortion of competition that has been created with the anti-contagion restrictions: - explains Fabio Tinti, national president of Fismo - while the shops are closed, the web acts in conditions of monopoly or almost. It is a problem that must be solved, especially if the containment regulations were to be extended ".

Confcommercio instead launched the campaign "I buy under the house because I feel at home" aimed at supporting purchases in neighborhood shops "and thus helping the businesses that keep cities alive and employ many people".