site.btaBulgarian E-Commerce Association Chair: 2024's Online Black Friday Sales to Top Those in 2023

This year, online sales during the Black Friday campaign will be higher than last year, expectations are for a turnover of BGN 500 million, said in a BTA interview Bulgarian E-Commerce Association (BEA) Chair Janet Naidenova.

A study by the Kantar marketing analysis company, commissioned by eMag, indicates that three out of every four Bulgarians living in cities intend to purchase at least one product during the campaign.

Naidenova pointed out that Black Friday is the biggest discount of the year in most online product categories. Studies show that over 70% of Bulgarians shop during tha sales. Only for the period of November 17, 18 and 19, 2023, online sales exceeded BGN 250 million, and by the end of November 2023, online purchases were worth over BGN 400 million, she said.

Black Friday has already started in Bulgaria. The campaign is a week ahead of Black Friday in the US, which is traditionally the last Friday in November after Thanksgiving.

Naidenova explained that in recent years this period has emerged as the biggest discount campaign of the year for online sales. The association's data shows that 75% of the offers during the campaign are at the lowest prices during Black Friday compared to prices throughout the year. After the end of November, the campaign overflows into Christmas discounts.

Consumers have changed their habits and look forward to Black Friday, with the date varying for different online stores throughout the month of November. The purchases during the campaign for some of the large online stores and platforms represent about 25-30% of the annual turnover.

Naidenov added that the entry into force of the Omnibus Directive (on 28 May 2022) and the main rules for compliance with the requirements for online trading during Black Friday have changed the percentages of discounts and there are alredy some realistic discounts that online stores offer during the campaign.

According to this directive, discounts must be based on the last lowest price in the last 30 days, which means that there can no longer be discounts of 80-90%  as in previous years, but realistic discounts of 30-40%, explained the BEA Chair.

She added that in recent years, the growing interest of consumers in Black Friday shows that e-commerce is already a shopping habit for Bulgarians and meets their expectations in terms of a variety of product categories, good offers, different methods of delivery and payment.

BEA research on the right of online shoppers to take advantage of the 14-day return policy shows that the rate of returned purchases averages 8.3%. The EU is 20%.
Among the best-selling products during Black Friday are clothing, shoes, perfumes, personal care and cosmetics, children's products, daily and pet products, white and black appliances, large and small household appliances, furniture and home goods, phones, laptops, tablets and various computer accessories, tires, auto parts and auto accessories, etc. Last year, during the campaign, Bulgarians spent an average of over BGN 620, which is BGN 120 more compared to the BGN 500 average spent during the campaign in the previous year, Naidenova pointed out.

She noted that the success of Black Friday campaigns is due to good preparation and planning, good marketing and attractive prices, which are the biggest discount of the year in most product categories.

Preparation for the biggest campaign of the year starts six months in advance. The expert pointed out that technical security is very important to process the huge traffic generated in this period by online stores.