How did Black Friday 2022 go?

The forecasts for Black Friday 2022 may not have been the most promising in recent times. We knew that economy is in a delicate moment, that there is a certain saturation and even that many stores have decided to ignore what Black Friday has become and have even bet on alternative Black Fridays.

 

All this is true. But numbers do not lie and, almost always, they are an indisputable argument. With the data in hand, we can objectively state that it has been a really good period for both eCommerce and retail.

According to the analysis carried out by Adobe Analytics, this year eCommerce has invoiced the not inconsiderable amount of 9.2 million dollars during Black Week (that is, including Cyber Monday).

 

It sounds like a lot of money; but how you really get a dimension of what it means is by comparing it with last year's result. Black Friday 2021 generated 1% more than Black Friday 2022, so it was slightly better.

If in addition to wondering how much you also wonder what has been sold, Adobe also tells you: electronics, especially smart watches, TVs, video game consoles, smart speakers and coffee machines. In addition to this, we should add fashion, sports equipment and toys, which are another category that always stand out as among the best sellers on Black Friday.

 
To complete the panoramic view, there is another relevant data provided by this study. We are talking about the average discounts by category:

The volume is interesting, no doubt about it. Another thing is to know if sellers´s margins have been the best (which does not seem to be that).

This is another question that should be asked: has this rise in eCommerce had a negative impact on physical commerce? Have stores been emptier?

 

Well, to evaluate it, let's turn to another study, in this case the one conducted by TC Group Solutions for retailers nationwide.

 

To carry out calculation, TC Group takes two dimensions as a reference: pedestrian traffic in shopping areas and store entrances. Both indicators compare promotional periods with respect to non-promotional periods.

 

According to the data handled by this company, it is concluded that, in general, it has also been a positive year for physical stores, although the level of depth of the report allows us to see that it has not been equally good for all cities in the country.

We see how, in the north, some cities have beaten the previous year's records. This is the case of Bilbao (+20% traffic and +67% store entries), San Sebastian (+37% traffic and +55% entries) and La Coruña (+17% traffic and +21% entries).

In the two large capitals, things have remained on a very similar line to the previous year: Madrid barely grew by 1% in traffic and the same entries as in 2021. Barcelona only improved its external traffic data, but it is not very significant (+3%).

 

Among the cities that suffer a more pronounced drop, Seville and Palma de Mallorca stand out, with a drop in foot traffic in shopping areas of -13% and -5%, respectively. In terms of in-store turnover, the figures are worse, falling by -26.5% in the Andalusian capital and by slightly less, 18%, in the Balearic Islands.

 

But we insist that, in general, the overall results have exceeded those of last year. By the way, if you want to download the full report, you can do so here.

In addition, supply chain problems and raw material shortages, coupled with the energy issue, will force retailers to revise their margins, possibly resulting in lower discounts.

 

But there is one last aspect that is worth highlighting, a trend that is consolidating this year and will certainly grow in 2023: deferred payments. On Black Friday 2022 we saw these payment methods grow by 78%, and it is something that is growing every season.