Black Friday and Cyber Week sales value in selected European countries 2018-2020

Black Friday spending was forecast to be the higher in the United Kingdom (UK) than any other European nation in 2020, although total figures are expected crash in 2020 due to the impact of coronavirus restrictions and lockdown measures in place in many European countries. Following the UK, the second biggest Black Friday spender was Germany, where Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday sales value reached 6.1 billion in 2018 and 6.3 billion British pounds in 2019. In 2020, Germany is predicted to spend around 6 percent less during Black Friday weekend.

The most popular retail event of the holiday season

Black Friday might be an American shopping phenomenon by origin, but European consumers have adopted it with similar degrees of zealotry. Across the EMEA region, Black Friday stood out among other special retail events during the holiday season in 2018. The number of daily retail transactions that took place on this day put Black Friday ahead of more traditional holiday season discount opportunities such as Christmas and Boxing Day sales. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most purchased products on Black Friday were in the tech category.

Millions of Black Friday transactions on Amazon

Black Friday is simultaneously a challenge and an opportunity for retailers, be it brick-and-mortar or online. One retailer that springs to mind immediately on this day is Amazon. In the UK, the total number of transactions made during 2018 Black Friday on Amazon’s UK platform saw a 30 percent increase from about two weeks before. On Black Friday’s twin event, Cyber Monday, the total number of transactions was just shy of four million.