This is how much money Switzerland spent on Black Friday

Promotions, discounts, discounts – last Friday was Black Friday, Switzerland’s biggest shopping event, and there was a lot of shopping. Thousands of shoppers were on the hunt for bargains. According to blackfridaydeals.ch, the Swiss non-food retailer achieved a turnover of 490 million francs within 24 hours. That is ten million francs more than the year before.

Online shopping carts were also filled and credit cards removed. A turnover of approximately 115 million francs was generated via the online channel. In the stores, i.e. offline, approximately 375 million francs were generated.

However, activity in 2023 will not reach the level of the record years 2020 and 2021. In 2020 and 2021, a turnover of approximately 500 million francs was achieved.

In 2023, the average value of the online shopping cart was approximately 250 francs. Last year it was 15 francs less. The increased prices this year indicate that many consumers have postponed their purchases until Black Friday. So it’s no surprise that numbers have increased.

Expensive items such as a new mobile phone, computer, television or furniture were particularly popular this year. There was less demand for cheap products that were more likely to be purchased spontaneously.

The share of online customers who have actually made a purchase, also known as the conversion rate, has fallen from 5.5 percent to 5.1 percent this year. This suggests that many people have mainly limited themselves to pre-planned purchases.

The Monitoring Consumption Switzerland project from the University of St. Gallen does not provide absolute figures, but it does provide a good comparison with normal shopping days. Every day, scientists anonymously scaled up the volumes of card (debit and credit) and mobile payments in Switzerland. The numbers shoot up exactly on Black Friday, and this year too there is a strong ‘consumption curve’.

Data from recent years also supports the theory that the bargain shopping days in late November kick off Christmas activity. Buying activity remains consistently high until the holidays just before the new year, peaking just before December 24.

On yesterday’s Cyber ​​Monday, which took place mainly online, the cash registers rang again. blackfridaydeals.ch predicts online sales of 80 million francs across Switzerland. This corresponds to the value of the previous year.