MILANO – Consumption is down due to high energy prices, but Black Friday and the following Cyber Monday seem to be shopping opportunities – also in view of the Christmas holidays – that Italians don’t want to miss. Findomestic data said it a few days ago, the estimates of theeCommerce B2c Observatory of the Milan Polytechnicaccording to which in the days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Italians will spend around 2 billion euros online.
On this occasion, particularly competitive operators will also achieve 5 times the turnover of an average day. The sectors most affected by these initiatives will be clothing, IT and electronics, jewellery, perfumes, body care products, furnishings and toys. A positive trend is also expected for online food and wine shopping.
Inflation and the return to full activity of physical stores, however, will influence the dynamics of online consumption in Italy also during the Black Friday period: online purchases between 25 and 28 November will only grow by +8% compared to 2021, when usually the growth was 23% (annual average of the last five years).
A generalized trend, already noted in the last two years, is to extend the duration of the discounts, effectively amplifying the scope of these events by scheduling some appointments distributed between November and December or an entire month of discounts. “The objective is twofold: to try to reach as wide a user base as possible and try to spread purchases (and the consequent distribution of products) over a longer period to avoid overloads and congestion of the network close to Christmas”, declares Valentina Pontiggia, director of the eCommerce B2c Netcomm Observatory – Milan Polytechnic. “Despite this attempt, it will be possible to sustain the pace of this period of stress only through extraordinary interventions and, above all, through the use of seasonal personnel. In the back-end processes, primarily logistics and customer care, the workforce in the months of November and December is also increased by +40%”.
The promotional policies do not change compared to previous years: they vary from a fixed discount on the entire cart, to a percentage discount on one or all the range of products, to limited-time offers or free shipping costs. “What distinguishes the Black Friday period in 2022 is the desire to create greater consumer loyalty and to establish an omnichannel relationship”, concludes Pontiggia. “On the one hand, some retailers aim to guarantee customers the same quality experience both in the store and on their digital channels, on the other, pure players, thanks to the resumption of face-to-face activities and events, are attempting the offline route through the experimentation of pop-up stores in urban centers and the opening of dedicated corners inside large shops”.