Offline, online sales soar as shoppers clamour for best Black Friday deals

Online and offline players are seeing crowds throng stores, and e-commerce sites are witnessing higher traction due to the Black Friday Sales taking place across both shopping formats. There has been a surge in footfalls and sales at malls this weekend, with most brands offering discounts.

Retail brands and malls are expecting sales to grow by as much as 50 per cent this time over the 2019 figures, when Black Friday as a concept began gaining momentum in India.

Quest Mall in Kolkata expects sales to be 40-50 per cent higher this year as footfalls have increased this Black Friday. “While silent sales began at the start of the week, brands began advertising only later, causing sales to increase,” said Mukesh Kumar, CEO, Quest Mall.

DLF Retail expects record breaking numbers this year but did not specify the extent to which they could be higher. “This time, the Black Friday sale will be even bigger and better, as consumers start purchasing fresh winter wear stocks at heavily discounted prices. At our properties, the season starts with the Black Friday sale and ends sometime around Valentine’s,” said Pushpa Bector, executive director, DLF Retail. “In October, we already saw a growth of over 40 per cent over the same period pre-Covid and we anticipate this sale to bring in record-breaking numbers. In terms of categories, clothes will be a top preference, followed by beauty coming a close second and consumer electronics thereafter.”

Lacoste, which is known for its crocodile logo on its polo neck T-Shirts, expects sales to be higher by 50 per cent over 2019. The brand is offering discounts of up to 50 per cent, both online and offline.

Woodland also expects sales to be higher as it typically sees a spike in sales every year due to the discounts offered.

“We have seen a 15-20 per cent increase in sales on this day over the last few years of celebrating this occasion, because customers happily execute all of their held/parked purchases on a single day. We anticipate similar momentum this year,” said Pavandeep Singh, VP growth strategy, Woodland.

E-commerce sites have also offered steep discounts.

Tata Cliq Luxury expects 60-70 per cent growth over last year. “The Black Friday sale is one of our flagship events, which began on November 23 and will go on until November 28, 2022…Brands like Armani Exchange, BOSS, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, and Tommy Hilfiger in the apparel category have offers ranging from 10–50 per cent off, while in the footwear category, brands such as Aldo, Dune London, Hoka, and Steve Madden are offering up to 40–50 per cent off,” said Gitanjali Saxena, business head, Tata CLiQ Luxury.

Nykaa started its Pink Friday Sales on November 21 and will continue unitl November 28.

The beauty and personal care e-commerce platform saw a 12 time jump in revenue on the first day of sales, the company said in a statement. Its luxury brands posted a 20-fold increase in sales compared to regular days.

On the first day its orders were up 40 per cent compared to last year and the firm had 400 orders every minute.

Fifty seven per cent of its purchases were made by shoppers from tier-2 and 3 cities, collectively.

Black Friday as a concept began in the US and picked up globally, with retailers offering heavy discounts to shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving.