Businesses Black Friday (Friday, Nov. 29) and Cyber Monday (Monday, Dec. 2) are betting on businesses and consumers alike. Retailers are optimistic in anticipation of a stimulating of liquidity, as mid-season sales have been eliminated and consumers are preparing to go bargain hunting several weeks before Christmas by taking advantage of the tempting deals during Black Weekdays.

According to Makis Savvidis, vice president of the Athens Trade Association (ACA) and vice president of the Greek E-Commerce Association (GRECA), speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, as every year, in the last week of November both online and physical stores will participate in the commercial celebration by offering products with very large discounts. “The celebration may be foreign, but every year the institution matures in our country, resulting in offering bigger and bigger discounts for the benefit of the consumer,” he stresses.

Final checks by the Ministry of Development

At the same time, market controls are being intensified by the Ministry of Development to ensure that offers and discounts are real, for the benefit of the consumer. “Controlling the market is a given obligation of the government which it has to do all the time and not just during Black Friday,” he notes, adding: “There are always businesses that operate on the sly and try to take advantage of the high demand of the days to offer products with misleading discounts.” He points out that especially for e-commerce, it is not easy to commit irregularities because the electronic presence of each business is public and visible. “Last year, two or three violations were detected by large companies. Small businesses do not resort to such practices because they know that the fines imposed on them will be crippling. Also, small businesses operate in a customer-centric manner. They have very good relations with their customers and do not go to the trouble of committing irregularities and breaking the law.”

Focusing on the consumer, he says that the problem of disposable income continues to exist and adds that “the limited disposable income of consumers is mainly allocated to paying increased rents and supermarkets, resulting in limited retail purchases. At the same time, this has affected the psychology of consumers and has radically altered their purchasing habits. However, he notes, discount events such as of Black Friday will not go unused, as they will offer consumers the opportunity to “hunt” for deals on products they are interested in.

Consumers are positive about shopping

But how will consumers behave at the biggest discount event of the autumn? As Thanos Mavros, EY Greece Partner and Head of EY’s Retail Sector in Southeastern Europe, explains, speaking to APE-MPE, in the context of EY’s major annual Future Consumer Index consumer trends survey, Greek consumers were asked if they plan to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. One in two participants (50%) responded positively, and among them, 79% said they were putting off some shopping until these days, expecting more discounted prices and bargains.

“I think it’s a classic case where you can see the glass ‘half empty’ or ‘half full’. On the one hand, we see that the consumer in Greece is now familiar with big discount events and is ready to take advantage of the opportunities. In fact, in certain segments of the public, the propensity to shop is even higher – 65% among young people aged 18-29, and especially students (69%), but also in the 40-49 age group (54%). Also, those with children and, in particular, minor children (60%) are more willing to shop. On the other hand, there are also 50% who say they will not shop on those days. High inflation and pressures on personal income and household budgets are the obvious explanations, with affordability continuing to be a top consideration for a large proportion of consumers. However, there is also a perception among many consumers that these discount events do not necessarily bring great bargains – or, at least, greater than those that occur during the rest of the year – so they are taking a more cautious stance,” Black highlights.

He argues that retail and consumer goods companies should study these figures and adjust their strategies accordingly. And today they have many tools at their disposal to be able to “reach” the various categories of consumers with personalized offers and advantageous proposals. “For example, we see global industry giants leveraging artificial intelligence by analyzing data in real-time to predict demand or even formulate personalized offers based on our preferences. They can also, using dynamic pricing algorithms, monitor the price trend of the competition and readjust their pricing policy in real-time, reaching the consumer first with the best value for money.”

As the research series, EY Future Consumer Index Greece, which runs from 2021 in the country – and will be officially present, the results for this year, in December – ascertain, many different needs, priorities, and expectations coexist in the consumer audience today. “The ‘key’ lies in how you offer consumers ‘what they want when they want it’ and through the channel they choose,” says Mr. Black.

Tips for safe shopping

The Consumer Advocate and the European Consumer Centre of Greece point out that the goal of all consumers should not only be to make economically advantageous purchases but at the same time to make smart and safe purchases. In this context, they advise consumers the following:

-Check product availability.

-We confirm the correctness and honesty of the discount price offered: Occasionally, it happens that the discounts are fictitious and deceive us. We identify and consult tools available online that show us over time the evolution of the prices of the products we are interested in. We also note the prices of products before and after the application of any discounts, so that we can easily compare them afterwards and thus know if they really exist and what our true financial benefit is.

-We prefer the processing of payment by cash on delivery or electronic means, which gives us the possibility to challenge an electronic transaction afterwards, if it turns out to be problematic. We avoid paying for products in full by bank deposit before delivery unless we have complete confidence in the seller’s authority and commercial reputation.

-When we buy remotely, we make sure that the trader’s website lists all legally required identification (e.g. his/her trading name) and contact details (full postal address of establishment). For even greater assurance, we look to see if additional identifying information is provided, such as a General Commercial Register registration number and VAT number.

-In the final purchase price of the products we include any indirect costs (e.g. costs of replacement, transport, insurance, etc.), so that we have a full picture of our actual financial burden.

-As soon as possible after receipt of a product, and in any case within the statutory period of three days, we submit our reservations to the postal company that carried out the delivery regarding any apparent damage, since it may have been caused during transport and we may be entitled to compensation. We will, in any case, also contact the sales outlet as soon as possible to investigate the possibility that a product may have been damaged or damaged in the first place (before transport).

-We are aware of the transaction cancellation and product return policy of the stores we deal with. We are well aware that the rights of withdrawal in distance purchases, as well as the free correction or replacement of defective products, are established rights of consumers, guaranteed by law, and we are not seduced by false and misleading claims of sellers that they are supposedly privileged -unique and additional- benefits.

-We are strongly concerned with prices that are too low, especially when their range is far enough away from the usual competition for the corresponding products or when they are product advertisements exclusively on social media, as there is a serious risk of deception.

-If we buy online from third countries (outside the European Union), since Black Friday is an international discount event, we know well in advance that imported products incur customs clearance costs, which may be several times higher than the original price and may add significantly to it.

-We have a particular preference for shops that voluntarily undertake to resolve a consumer dispute amicably through the institution of out-of-court resolution (e.g. through the Consumer Ombudsman), as in this way consumer rights are more valuable and even more secure.