Black Friday originated in the 1950s in the city of Philadelphia in the United States and was not always a shopping bonanza. Falling on the Friday after Thanksgiving – always the fourth Thursday in November – it became known as this by factory managers, because so many factory workers would call in sick on this day, extending their holiday weekend. It was also traditionally the weekend of a big football game between the army and the navy, and thousands of fans converged on the city and also started their festive season shopping. Shopkeepers made the most of the extra foot traffic by offering sales and discounts, and for many, this was the chance to make a profit – or get into the “black” and out of the “red” in time for Christmas.

The discount-sale element grew in popularity and by the 1980s the whole of America was shopping up a storm on Black Friday. And like Coca Cola, Levi’s Jeans and Kentucky Fried Chicken, Black Friday was soon embraced by the rest of the world, as it was this year on 26 November.

In Europe, the sales festival associated with Black Friday is interpreted much more loosely, according to Atterbury Europe development manager Roux Gerber, who notes that there are a number of distinct approaches to Black Friday across the continent.

Although it has remained a one-day sales bonanza in some countries, in others it has become a week-long or even in some cases a month-long extended event, he explains, adding that the date also varies from country to country. “It many cases it is related to the date on which pay day falls in the public and private sector,” he says. “For instance, in Romania this year Black Friday fell on 12 November, and the sales period was typically extended for two weeks. In our other territories, Serbia and Cyprus, Black Friday followed the American example and fell on 26 November, although it was also extended in some cases to offer a longer window of opportunity.”

Ovidiu Galan, head of marketing at Atterbury Europe’s Romanian partners IULIUS, explains that it was a strategic decision by Romanian retailers to offer a longer shopping period to leverage the popularity of the concept in that country.

“We organised a real Black Friday marathon, starting on the 12^th and extending over three consecutive weekends. The registered footfall was well above usual levels and reminded us of pre-pandemic normal times,” he says. “This proved that, although access into the mall is conditional on green certificates and compliance with sanitary measures, people are eager to shop and, above all, to experience the feel-good factor of in-store shopping.”

And that, he explains, was exactly what triggered the idea behind their Black Friday campaign, which focused on the instant joy of in-store shopping sessions, as compared to the imposed wait of four or five days for an online order to arrive. “This way customers had more time to shop and were able to try on, match, experiment with and test out the products they were planning to buy, avoiding unpleasant ‘surprises’ such as the wrong size,” he says. “The first-hand experience customers enjoy offline in the real world is a means for them to relax, unwind and treat themselves, and the online world cannot compete with that.”

Galan says that retailers had increasingly tempting offers over all three of the weekends, and across the whole Romanian network, which spans Iași, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava. “The largest discounts – higher than 60% – were available on the regular Black Friday, 26 November, when the biggest number of shops had promotional offers. Shoppers could buy seasonal products, ranging from clothing, footwear, beauty products, accessories and jewellery, to home products, toys and books at lower prices than during the year,” he says.

From an organisational point of view, IULIUS posted extra staff at mall entrances to scan green certificates, and security and parking lot staff were also increased to avoid queuing and to reduce waiting times.

According to Gerber the effects of the Covid pandemic are still felt in supply-chain issues, which affected Black Friday across Atterbury Europe’s operating territories. Stores already have low stock levels, and there is a backlog with supply, and long lead times on orders. Shipping costs have increased, and in some cases there has been an increase in prices due to demand exceeding supply. “This might be short-term, but as with many other things related to the pandemic, we just don’t know,” says Gerber.

“Some retailers also feel that to increase turnover with very low margins only to find themselves without replacement stock available, defeats the purpose, especially bearing in mind the uncertainties we currently face. Black Friday historically gives them an opportunity to move oversupply or dead stock, but this year they’ve have the opposite, with shortages. The impact of having a very limited ‘special’ offer then only adds to the frustration of not being able to service customers as in a normal year due to supply-chain constraints.”

In Cyprus, for instance, concerns about sustainability of supply has seen the envisaged range of “special” offers being much reduced from previous years, according to Mall of Cyprus marketing manager George Pissis. “We have also had to deal with new measures due to the pandemic, for instance to accommodate social-distancing requirements and avoiding big gatherings in a specific shop, while still trying at the same time to create the excitement of a real limited special offer.”

But retailers embraced the challenges, says Pissis, and came up with workaround solutions so that, in effect, operational excellence got a boost as plans were made to optimise the shopper experience over these days of increased traffic. “This included increased security monitoring where necessary and installing bollards to facilitate queuing outside shops with exceptionally high traffic,” he explained. “In order to spread the traffic as much as possible, some of our shops offered extended shopping hours, while others that would normally only have offers on the one day, extended theirs to the whole weekend. Ultimately, the safety of our shoppers and tenants was the highest priority on Black Friday as over any other shopping period, and we did whatever we could to create the best possible sales platform and shopping environment.”

Gerber echoes the sentiment, and confirms that across Atterbury Europe’s portfolio, they have noticed a growing sentiment toward sustainability, with especially the younger generation supporting any and all such drives, including recycling on all levels, and a more selective and careful approach towards shopping.

“Black Friday as a marketing tool has historically been a highlight before the year-end festive period, however this year the normal rules have not applied. But it has not been all gloom and doom for Black Friday, and although a much more careful and considered approach characterised all marketing activities, shoppers across all three territories were afforded the opportunity to access special deals and the excitement of a sale environment.”