Black Friday buying to out-do December

Black Friday bargains will be enjoyed by even more Spaniards this year, according to Deloitte.

Black Friday, the term adopted by online and high street retailers to denote a 24-hour flash sale on the last Friday of November, has had a very successful trial period in Spain over the last few years. And as this year’s Black Friday approaches (it’s in the calendar for this Friday 23^rd November), financial consultants Deloitte report that its appeal and commercial success will go from strength to strength…

Deloitte – one of the “Big Four” accounting organisations and the largest professional services company of its kind – predicts that the American-imported Black Friday will, for the first time, be responsible for more Christmas shopping purchases than the entire month of December.

Its Christmas Consumerism Study 2018 (yes, unbelievably it does exist) shows that Spaniards are buying further in advance of the festive period than ever before, with 11.3% of Spanish respondents intending to purchase the vast majority – or all – of their presents during the 24-hour sales window.

This figure for en masse Black Friday buying has risen from 8.7% last year, with a huge 77% of respondents claiming they’ll definitely make “a purchase or two” on the day.

Almost 30% of those questioned said they would spend more than a third of their entire budget for Christmas gifts before the start of December, which dwarfs the 17% who expect to wait until the very last minute to get their presents.

In terms of the total amount of money spent over the festive period, Spaniards are the second most generous in Europe in this department, eclipsed only by the Brits; while Spain is the most optimistic country with regards to its economy, with perceptions on average 7% more positive than the rest of Europe.