Black Friday is just around the corner.
On November 26th, the retail trade beckons with a flood of special offers.
What consumers need to know about the discount war
Munich - Black Friday * has also been picking up speed in Germany for a number of years.
On the day after the American Thanksgiving Festival, retailers officially usher in the Christmas shopping season - with a flood of special offers across the entire range.
The origin of the name Black Friday cannot be clearly answered: On the one hand, there is a rumor that the term comes from a crowd of shopping enthusiasts who once romped in front of shops in the US city of Philadelphia. Another reason is that Black Friday rather refers to the black numbers of retailers who enjoy extraordinarily high income on that day.
But there is usually a gap between the advertising promise * and the truth - and this will also be the case on Black Friday 2021: With regard to price savings, offers that are likely to hit should at least be questioned.
The specified discount in comparison to the non-binding sales price is a sticking point.
The MSRP is usually undercut by various retailers on different platforms anyway, so it is by no means always a real price saving.
Black Friday 2021: This is how much money can be saved for consumers
There are various findings about the extent to which money can ultimately be saved on Black Friday. Optimistic studies show values of up to 30 percent, other studies put the monetary benefit of the prominent sales campaign at just under 9 percent, as
analyzed by
faz.net
. Ultimately, consumers should simply control how things are going with the price structure of the desired article. This includes comparing supposed bargains in peace, the easiest way using price search engines such as idealo.de.
In addition, consumer associations appeal not to allow themselves to be put under pressure despite tempting offers.
People like to simulate scarcity, but this is often not the truth.
However, this thesis is shaky this year: Problems can certainly arise as a result of the global chip crisis.
A study by GfK predicts higher prices on Black Friday 2021 due to the delivery bottlenecks for some desired items - especially in the electronics sector.
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Black Friday is just around the corner: retailers are massively promoting one of the busiest days of the year.
© Manuel Geisser / Imago
Black Friday: DIY stores with garden centers and video games offer particularly high discounts
As the comparison platform Guenstiger.de describes, the greatest price savings beckon on gardening and hardware store products: There were discounts of around 13 percent in 2020.
This is followed by products from the gaming sector.
In comparison, the least money could be saved on smartphones and televisions (around five percent).
Black Friday: Harsh criticism
Whether in the USA, Germany or anywhere else: When retailers do everything they can to stimulate the population's buying mood with Black Friday discounts, there are also one or two points of criticism: As Greenpeace * describes, some are betting especially in the fashion sector Well-known companies continue to use the concept of inexpensive disposable items.
The environmental protection organization explicitly names brands such as Mango, H&M, Primark, Nike and Adidas, which are said to be bringing ever larger quantities of so-called “fast fashion” onto the market.
This therefore also plays a role on Black Friday, which sometimes promises the prospect of considerable sales for the sports and clothing industry.
Fairtrade Germany describes the dark side of the discount battle: “We buy more, pay less and use products for less and less.
Black Friday has become a symbol of this consumer madness, ”criticizes Dieter Overath, the company's CEO.
After Black Friday is before Cyber Monday
After a two-day break, “Cyber Monday” continues on the following Monday (November 29th) - with special offers in online retail *.
The German trade association (HDE) is forecasting a healthy increase in sales of 27 percent to 4.9 billion euros nationwide for these two sales days.
Shortly before Black Friday, Europe's largest electronics retailer MediaMarktSaturn also has to comply with the announced corona rules.
Apparently there is a risk of long queues * at the entrance.
(PF) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Manuel Geisser / Imago
