Accused of pushing overconsumption, Black Friday is again shunned this year by several brands and platforms, which deprive themselves of one of the most lucrative days of the year.
This Friday, for the first time, eBay France will not offer any discount on new products for Black Friday, despite forecasts that still promise great success for this global commercial event.
More than half of French people plan to buy on Black Friday, 30% refuse to do so and 15% are still undecided, the Harris Interactive institute revealed at the beginning of the week, as part of a co-financed study. by MAIF and the Green Friday collective.
The eBay France site has well gauged the financial sacrifice of its initiative but "
in the long term, bets on the growth
" of second-hand products, explains Sarah Tayeb, its deputy general manager, to AFP.
Questioned this Friday morning on
Radio Classique
, the general manager, Céline Saada-Benaben, underlines the objective of a "
more reasoned and more responsible consumption
".
"
Christmas will be based on second-hand and refurbished products, whether for gifts or decorations
,” she adds.
Read alsoBlack Friday, a remedy for overstocking
In the fashion sector, similar initiatives are emerging, such as that of Vestiaire Collective, a second-hand product sales platform, which banned 27 “
ultra fast fashion
” brands (SheIn, Topshop, etc.) “
at dawn of Black Friday
”, letting 5% of its catalog slip away.
Other e-commerce sites, such as Back Market and Leboncoin, have launched marketing campaigns explaining that "
Black Friday is all year round
" on their second-hand goods site.
A commitment hailed by associations, and in particular Extinction Rébellion (XR), which is “
delighted
” with this “
step taken in the way society looks at Black Friday
”, declared Isabelle, alias MegaPinthea, of XR.
"
The fact of communicating on this boycott is also a selling point for the signs, it is therefore far from promoting sobriety, but it is part of an awareness
", however nuanced the activist.
"Dangerous game"
Since 2018, the 500 structures that make up the Green Friday collective have taken part in a vast operation to boycott the event, banishing discounts from their shops and donating 10% of their turnover from that day to associations.
A choice that “
perhaps sometimes goes against the economy
” but which makes “
proud
”, believes Thibaut Ringo, general manager of Altermundi and co-founder of Green Friday.
The head of the network of responsible trade shops emphasizes that not having shareholders to remunerate is a model that allows “
to invest in new projects
”.
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And on the consumer side, can we afford not to buy cheaper?
"
Buy less but buy better
", answer in heart the companies interviewed by AFP.
An injunction to which some consumers are already responding positively, such as Mickaël Adioko, 27, data analyst, who told AFP "
buy when he needs it
".
In front of a Fnac in western Paris during "
Black Friday Week
", Alexis Garin, who works in marketing, refuses the event for "
ethical
" reasons.
However, suffering from difficult economic conditions, brands seem more reluctant to play the "
dangerous game
" of boycott this year, analyzes Édouard Nattée, founder and president of Fox Intelligence by NielsenIQ, consumer panel on e-commerce.
To collect its data, this panel relies on anonymized electronic receipts from millions of consumers around the world.
"
In 2020 and 2021, we were in an absolutely crazy e-commerce context, with abnormal figures (...) and limits on stocks
", while in 2022, it's the opposite, explains Édouard Nattée.
And to conclude: "
This year, it's harder for everyone, (...) harder to make (such) decisions
".