“Black Friday”: shops “lose 30 million euros”
business
The lockdown in combination with “Black Friday” campaigns from online shops meant a loss of 30 million euros for brick-and-mortar retail in Salzburg on the first weekend in Advent alone. This is what representatives of the trade in the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce say.
Many online shops use “Black Friday” – the Friday before the first weekend in Advent – and the following days up to “Cyber Monday” on Monday for special offers. At the same time, most of the stationary trade has to keep the shops closed. Only the collection of goods after pre-ordering is allowed.
Appeal to purchase from domestic online shops
This is a devastating situation, says Johann Höflmaier, division manager for trade in the Salzburg Economic Chamber. It is to be expected that the online trade will again benefit greatly from the campaigns. Here the Chamber of Commerce calls for people to shop online at home. In addition, the “Click & Collect” option – order online and pick up in the shop – should also be used. The purchase of vouchers should also help to strengthen businesses in the region or to secure their existence, i.e. the trading spade manager.
The lockdown-related closure for Christmas business hits retailers even harder this year than last year. Since the lockdown was earlier in the previous year, most industries were able to start the Christmas business on December 7th. This year there are three shopping Saturdays in Advent and the Marian holiday on December 8th. The sum that the trading companies cannot achieve in the run-up to Christmas would correspond to 50 percent of the total seasonal match for November and December sales, according to Chamberlain Höflmaier.