What hours will they operate and what should consumers be aware of?
With expectations for a double-digit increase in turnover from the commercial world and a strengthened purchasing mood of the consumer public, the biggest commercial celebration of November began.
Already from Friday, November 24 (Black Friday) the commercials stores are in a fighting position with discount offers reaching up to 70% and consumers looking for economical, smart and safe shopping.
On Sunday, November 26, the stores will be open throughout the territory from 11 am to 8 pm, while the peak of the offers is expected on Monday, November 27 (Cyber Monday), when the shopping traffic is transferred almost exclusively to the digital stores. At the cutting edge of the offerings are technology products with electrical and electronics chains leading the way in promotions offering consumers, among other things, flexible payment solutions. Black Friday-style sales are carried out, among others, by all major chains of household appliances, cosmetics companies, sporting goods, furniture, home goods, clothing, footwear, seasonal items and also supermarkets.
At the same time, controls on the market by the Ministry of Development are being intensified in order to ensure that the offers for consumers will be real. In fact, the minister, Kostas Skrekas, attended last Thursday an evening with the theme “Discounts? Offers; Do it right! We inform businesses, protect consumers’ and referred to the importance of auditing services so that offers and discounts are real for the benefit of the consumer. Especially for Black Friday, he emphasized that thousands of products have been charged in the past, there will be cross-checking of the discounts advertised by businesses and, if necessary, fines will be imposed as planned.
Speaking to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, Makis Savvidis, vice-president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of GRECA, expresses optimism for the trade movement and notes that the consumer is very stressed with limited disposable income, which he consumes mainly on basic necessities. However, commercial enterprises, according to him, are preparing to offer the best prices in order to strengthen their coffers and move towards the Christmas season, which is also the most critical of the year.
“The trading world expects to recover from the lost month of October which was not positive in terms of sales. We believe that for another year consumers will take advantage of the commercial event by doing part of their Christmas shopping and the market will move positively. However, as the disposable income of consumers is limited, we estimate that there will be increased sales compared to the corresponding period last year, but of a lower value due to the limited disposable income of consumers.”
“In the markets of Attica there is an abundance of products, plenty of good prices for all things, but also great competition. Consumers have no choice but to take advantage of this period as an opportunity for their purchases” recently stated the president of the E.B.E.P. and P.E.S.A., Vassilis Korkidis. “The Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is a double successful and established institution in the Greek market, where the commercial world tries to attract consumers with offers. At the same time, it is a real incentive for households under financial pressure to shop for products that meet their current needs at lower prices. It is obvious that the effort made by the companies, in addition to great intensity in sales, is to have a longer promotional period. Although I have pointed out the risk of obsolescence of the discount institution from a prolonged period, this year, I will have to revise, on the one hand because of the abolition of interim discounts and, on the other hand, the resurgence of inflation,” he said.
Tips for safe shopping
But how will Greek consumers shop this year? According to the results of a study carried out by the company Klarna in collaboration with the research company Nepa in which more than 15,000 consumers from 15 countries, including Greece, participated, the majority of Greek consumers intend to make purchases during the Black Friday sales (77% compared to 70% in all countries combined). At the same time, 70% of Greek consumers stated that they already have a clear shopping plan for the Black Friday period (compared to 68% in all countries overall), showing that they have prepared for this particular day. The survey found that 69% of consumers plan to invest in high-value purchases such as electronics, jewelry and furniture this year’s Black Friday. The survey also shows the preference of Greek consumers for online shopping. Specifically, across all product categories, consumers seem to prefer online shopping over in-store shopping, showing the rise of e-commerce. In the jewelry & accessories category alone, 52% of participants said they would prefer shopping in a physical store. When it comes to spending, 39% of consumers will only buy what they can afford, while only 5% said they might end up spending too much on Black Friday sales. Almost half of Greek consumers (47%) said they would buy products they would have bought anyway, but at a cheaper price. The top products consumers are interested in buying are electronics (55%), clothing and footwear (52%) and beauty products (25%).
At the same time, popular fraud tactics expected between November 2023 and January 2024 due to rapid growth in e-commerce activities and personal spending at retail outlets, a Visa report finds. In this context, Visa recommends that consumers make purchases from reliable and well-known merchants. In case they make a purchase from an online store, market research is recommended, while a prerequisite for safe purchases is that the website uses secure technology. Consumers are also advised to avoid public Wi-Fi for shopping and always use a secure, private network. It is noted that consumers must pay particular attention to offers, especially if they contain extremely low prices for hard-to-find products.
Along the same lines, the Consumer Advocate and the European Consumer Center of Greece point out that the goal of all consumers should not only be economically advantageous, but at the same time smart and safe purchases. In this context, they advise consumers of the following:
-We pay attention to the availability of the products: Sometimes, behind a very low price hides a rather long waiting time for delivery, which may not always satisfy our immediate needs.
-We confirm the correctness and honesty of the discounted price offered: Sometimes, it happens that the discounts are fictitious and deceive us. We identify and consult tools that are available online and show us over time the evolution of the prices of the products we are interested in. We also note the prices of the products before and after applying any discounts, so that we can easily compare them afterwards and thus know if it actually exists and what our true financial benefit is.
-We prefer to process the payment by cash on delivery or electronic means, which give us the possibility to dispute an electronic transaction afterwards, if a problem arises. We avoid full payment of products by bank deposit before delivery, unless we have complete confidence in the reputation and commercial reputation of the seller.
-When we buy remotely, we make sure that the merchant’s website contains all the legally required identification (e.g. trade name) and contact information (full postal address of the establishment). For even greater security, we look for additional identifying information, such as registration number in the General Commercial Register and VAT number.
-In the final purchase price of the products, we include any indirect costs (e.g. cost of cash on delivery, transport, insurance, etc.), so that we have a complete picture of our real financial burden.
-We submit as soon as possible after receiving a product and, in any case, within the legal deadline of three days to the postal company that made the delivery our reservations for any obvious damages, given that they may have been caused during transport and we are entitled to compensation. We definitely contact the store of sale as soon as possible, in order to investigate the possibility that a product was damaged or damaged in the first place (before transport).
-We are informed about the policy of cancellation of transactions and returns of products implemented by the stores with which we do business. We are well aware that the rights of withdrawal in distance purchases, as well as the free correction or replacement of defective products are established consumer rights, guaranteed by law, and we are not swayed by false and misleading claims by sellers that they are supposedly privileged – unique and Additional facilities.
-We are strongly concerned with prices that are too low, especially when their range is quite far from the usual competition for the respective products, or when it comes to product listings exclusively on social media, as there is a serious risk of deception.
-If we buy online from third (non-EU) countries, since Black Friday is an international discount event, we know well in advance that imported products incur customs clearance costs, which may be multiples of the original price and significantly burden it .
-We show a particular preference for stores that voluntarily undertake to resolve a consumer dispute amicably through the institution of out-of-court resolution (e.g. through the Consumer Ombudsman), as in this way the rights of consumers acquire greater value and are even more ensured .
