Next Friday will be the hottest phase of the Black Friday bargain hunt. But not all of them devoted themselves to consumerism. No sale at Ikea and Jelmoli this Friday.
Three quarters of Swiss people don’t want to buy anything on Black Friday anyway. Third for the sake of sustainability. This is the result of a survey conducted by Demoscope on behalf of the Blackfridaydeals.ch platform.
Older people in particular want to bargain for the sake of the environment. More than half of environmentally conscious youth want to go shopping on Black Friday.
give rather than take
If you’re looking for Black Friday promotions in Jelmoli mall, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Zurich store will not participate. Jelmoli is attending Giving Tuesday for the fourth time in a row.
Jelmoli donates 5 francs to Insieme21 for every 50 franc purchases on Black Friday. This applies to those affected by trisomy 21 and their relatives in German-speaking Switzerland.
Jelmoli collected 47,950 CHF with the campaign last year. The money was then donated to Züriwerk, which at Giving Tuesday committed to equal rights for people with disabilities.
Customers would react very positively to the campaign. “They appreciate the clear positioning and our stance on social responsibility, solidarity and conscious consumption,” said a spokesperson for Blick.
Payment service provider Twint is also featured on Giving Tuesday. “Through the donation option in the Twint app, we want to contribute to Giving Tuesday to better the world,” says Markus Kilb, 56, CEO of Twint, on the Giving Tuesday website.
Re-buy instead of sell
Landi doesn’t offer any bargains on Black Friday either. But that’s the concept of the stores. “We offer permanently low prices,” says a Blick spokesperson.
Likewise, Exlibris never attended Black Friday and won’t be offering any bargains this year either. “For us, continuity, fairness and reliability, as well as permanently good conditions and services, are more important than a one-day discount war,” says a spokesperson.
Ikea also sets an example: instead of Black Friday, it’s Buyback Friday. The Swedish furniture giant has an all-year buyback service. “During the Buyback week Friday, November 14-27, family members will receive double the buyback value,” an IKEA spokesperson said on request.
The furniture store is holding Buyback Friday for the third time. Last year, 4,239 customers used this service and sold more than 11,000 items back to Ikea. Three quarters of the products found a new home immediately.
“Demand for our second-hand items is very high, and eventually we sell almost all furniture,” the spokesperson says. Furniture will be donated if there is any surplus.
Lower sales expected on Black Friday
But Ikea hasn’t always fought the shopping spree. Until 2019, Ikea participated in Black Friday. Meanwhile, the furniture store wants to encourage its customers to consume consciously.
Neobank Neon was also featured on Black Friday in 2021, but this year it has ruled against it in the name of sustainability. Instead, the bank is offering its existing customers a two-year warranty extension for electronic products purchased with a neon card from November 21 to December 21, 2022.
The idea of sustainability is spreading more and more. Black Friday sales will likely dwindle as more and more elderly, wealthy Swiss are giving up on Black Friday for the sake of sustainability.
“Overall, we assume that sales in Switzerland by Black Friday 2022 will be around francs 470 million, due to numerous influencing factors and the interest we have observed,” says Julian Zrotz, 35, Managing Director of the Blackfridaydeals.ch platform. That’s 30 million less than last year.