Black Friday is the most anticipated online shopping event of the year, owing to the wide array of deals and discounts spread out over the 5–6-week festive period. This year promises to be no different, with consumer purchase intent peaking in anticipation of this sales extravaganza. With interesting price drops and high consumer purchase intent, we expect online sales to reach ~$8.5 Bn in MENA during the upcoming festive season.

Here’s a deeper understanding of expected consumer and sector trends during Black Friday.

1. The upcoming Black Friday season is expecting a whopping 40 Mn online shoppers

Black Friday sales have seen sustained growth in the past few years and this year we expect the trend to continue. Around 40 Mn shoppers will be hooked to online channels to take advantage of attractive deals and price drops. While Black Friday was traditionally associated with high discounts, consumers decision criteria will also be heavily influenced by large product variety, trendy products, and fast delivery this season.

2. The shoppers are expected to contribute ~$8.5 Bn to the e-tailing market in MENA

Last year, the Black Friday season beat our initial forecast of USD 6 Bn and clocked a massive USD 6.5 Bn during the 45-day period. This year, with the season overlapping with the FIFA World Cup, massive spikes in consumption are going to take place powering it to reach USD 8.5 Bn. Brands and retailers alike should rethink their marketing campaigns and product assortment to ride on the wave of the mega football event as well, to maximize value creation this sales season.

3. Electronics and fashion categories are expected to see the highest spike

At a sector level, electronics and fashion are the top categories to watch out for this season, with consumers showing higher excitement compared to last year, while BPC and home are the segments witnessing lower intent to buy relative to the previous season. Consumers typically plan a lot of their electronics purchases for the Black Friday season, due to which the segment sees a spike. Within Fashion, there is going to be a very high demand for sports merchandise, footwear etc., due to the excitement surrounding the World Cup.

Author

  • Akshay advises clients on mandates across growth strategy, competitive positioning, due diligence, market entry and digitization. He has worked extensively on across e-tailing, eB2B, logistics, healthcare to name a few sectors. His expertise pans India, SEA & MENA regions.

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