Consumers lose interest in Black Friday sales, with only 36% planning to buy

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has advice for consumers to ensure they are not misled by online sales

Just 36% of Irish consumers say they plan to making a purchase during the sales at the end of November. Picture: Patrick Bolger/Bloomberg 

Irish consumers are losing interest and lacking trust in the value of sales being offered during the shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, new research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) shows. 

According to a survey of over 1,000 Irish consumers, only 36% of people are planning on making a purchase during the upcoming sales period this year — down from 45% last year.

However, those who are willing to make a purchase are expecting to spend more this year at €431 on average, compared to €343 during 2023. Of those surveyed, 10% said they will spend over €1,000.

Men are expecting to spend more than women in the sales, with 42% expecting to spend at least €500, compared to 24% of women expecting to spend this much.

The CCPC said that unplanned purchases on time-constrained special offers and discounts can also influence consumers into making purchases they wouldn’t normally make. 

Of those surveyed, 45% said they’ve made an unplanned purchase during a sale and regretted it afterwards.

Regulations passed in November 2022 require retailers now to show discounts compared to the prior price. This prior price must be the lowest price the product was on sale for in the previous 30 days.

Around two in three of all consumers reported being aware of the rules for the display of discount information.

Trust in the discounts on offer is low, with just 30% of people saying they trust that sale prices displayed by businesses are genuine.

Almost 80% of Black Friday shoppers plan to research the advertised discount of items before buying, with those aged over 45 most likely to do some research.

The CCPC said that young people are more likely to shop in the sales and are more likely to trust advertised discounts, and less likely to do research about prices which may make them vulnerable to fake discounts.

The research found that many are planning to avoid using credit to make purchases this year with 84% saying they’ll use their debit cards with 29% saying they will pay for items in cash.

CCPC director of communications Gráinne Griffin said they are “strongly” encouraging consumers to plan before they shop this year by creating a list and sticking to a budget.

Consumers should also take particular care when shopping online, making sure they buy from well established businesses based in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.

“There are very strong legal requirements on businesses when displaying discounts, they must be genuine and clearly show the consumer the prior price.

“References to ‘recommended retail price’ or RRP cannot be used to mislead consumers into thinking that a product has been discounted.”

Of those intending to make a purchase over the shopping weekend, 50% said they expect to buy clothing, while 42% said electronics with the mobile phones and laptops being the top two priorities for consumers.

Beauty products and cosmetics were cited by 13%, and baby toys and related products were cited by 12%.