Online sales are predicted to grow by more than 50 percent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, according to data from Bonusway, one of Europe’s leading e-commerce cashback service providers, as Covid-19 regulations around the world prevent large crowds gathering in stores. This year, more and more companies are participating in the November shopping campaigns to boost their business in a challenging economic climate. Actual sales figures from recent Singles’ Day predict strong growth for the upcoming Black Friday weekend.
Singles Day, the world’s biggest shopping event held on November 11 kicked off the yearly shopping spree month, with sales reportedly surpassing $74 billion, nearly double the previous record. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are set to follow on the 27th and on the 30th of this month. Although Singles’ Day is a relatively new phenomenon in some European countries, its role is internationally significant.
According to Bonusway’s statistics, Singles’ Day sales, especially in Eastern European markets were ten times higher than on a regular shopping day. In Bonusway’s biggest markets such as Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, Singles’ Day e-commerce sales were triple compared to a normal day this year. In Estonia sales were five times more than on a normal day.
This year, the popularity of Singles Day continued to increase, with sales seeing a 20% increase compared to last year’s campaign sales via the cashback platform. Single’s Day sales were still strongest in the Chinese stores selling in Bonusway’s markets, but this year also the local fashion shops focused on the season, with some even doubling their sales compared to 2019. Bonusway predicts that fast-moving consumer goods will be strongly sought after this Black Friday, in addition to normal electronics and other «hard gifts.»
“Singles Day and the Black Friday weekend are set to completely transform e-commerce this year,” says Tatu Koistinen, CEO and & Founder at Bonusway. “We’ve seen a 60% increase in merchants joining the Bonusway platform during H1 this year, looking to survive and thrive during the new normal. This highlights how more and more companies are looking to online services to counteract the pandemic,” he continues.
This year, many Black Friday deals that previously attracted consumers to brick and mortar shops will appear online throughout November. With COVID-19 casting uncertainty over the economy and many job losses around the world, there’s a good chance consumers will also have less to spend – or will at least spend more carefully this year. However, with stores closed this year, retailers are likely to meet consumers with lower online prices to kick start their holiday shopping.
Zalando, one of the Bonusway partners is an excellent example of the trend. Europe’s leading platform for fashion and lifestyle increased its Q3 revenue by an exceptional 29.9%. During 2019, Black Friday week the sales grew 32% compared to 2018. If both trends remain, reaching over 50% growth in campaign sales for Black Friday week is possible also for Zalando.
“In many European countries, Black Friday sales are expected to double from the previous year as the trend moves towards pre-Christmas shopping starts earlier and moves online,” says Bonusway’s Koistinen.
