The recently completed Black Friday campaign seems to have met the expectations of the trade. The priority this year was to overcome the decline in sales in October, remove the accumulated stock and recover investments, especially in the fashion, footwear and household linen sectors, whose turnover fell 10.4% that month, according to data of Kantar. And the first analyzes of the sales day last weekend point in that direction. “The impression is good in the absence of the end of the month; We anticipate a turnover similar to that of Black Friday in 2021, which is already positive," says David Sánchez, president of Comertia, the Catalan association of family retail businesses, which groups more than 60 companies.
In the 2021 edition, Comertia companies sold 16.5% more than in 2019, but billing in the current campaign would be flat compared to last year. That in terms of income. Unit sales would have fallen due to inflation, adds Sánchez. “The brands have made discounts because the priority was to recover investments; sales have improved, but we have sacrificed margins”, he adds.
Traffic data on the main shopping streets and store entrances are in line with a certain stagnation in the campaign. Pedestrian traffic in the commercial areas of Barcelona increased by 3% between last Friday and Sunday compared to the same days in 2021, while in Madrid it barely increased by 1%, TC Group Solutions indicates. Sunday, however, was the worst day and pedestrian traffic in the shopping area fell by 18% in Barcelona and 22% in Madrid. The growth in the shopping day on Friday and Saturday offset this drop. As for the entrances to the stores, the same pattern is reproduced: "stabilization of the year-on-year figures and marked decrease on Sunday", they add from the consultant.
The spending forecasts of different consultants coincide with these data, with a clear containment with respect to 2021. The Accenture Christmas Shopping Survey estimates that each Spaniard will have spent an average of 497 euros on Black Friday and Christmas, 5% less than in 2021, while BCG forecasts a drop in spending of 13%. Deloitte calculates a budget of 634 euros per person, similar to the previous year, although it includes more categories than the other surveys, such as spending on restaurants and travel. In the case of electronic products, stars of Black Friday, GFK forecasts a 5% decrease in sales by the end of the year.
