Many Cypriots headed to shops from early morning on Friday to take advantage of Black Friday discounts, with technology items dominating preferences though other product shops also saw activity.
Cyprus Consumer Association President Marios Drousiotis told Philenews that the association’s advice was heeded and people this year have done their research and are shopping consciously.
“We’ve been in shops and malls since morning. This year the situation is better than last year. There are more consumers who appear to have done their research and go to shops for a specific product that interests them,” he said.
Around one in three consumers, approximately 30%, make a purchase from the shop they visit, Drousiotis said. “We examined how many left shops with bags and how long their visit to the shop lasted. If they leave within seven minutes, it means they knew from the start what they would buy and had done their research.”
Some citizens even kept notes about the product they wanted, especially in technology shops, he said.
Discounts only on outdated models
On the negative side of this year’s Black Friday, Drousiotis noted that a large portion of goods had no discount. “They had specific models, the oldest and most outdated, and not on all items. We, as consumers, would like a discount—even a small one—offered everywhere.”
Very few shops had universal discounts, Drousiotis said. “Unfortunately, Black Friday doesn’t differ from other sales. However, people expect that on this one day there would be a large percentage price reduction.”
A few shops did not participate in discounts at all. “We also received a complaint about a shop that raised the price of a product a short time ago and today brought it back to normal, supposedly offering a discount,” he concluded.
