Black Friday dangers: ‘People will have a rude awakening in January’

With many promotions, customers are attracted to the store, but they may regret some purchases in a few weeks.

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“I’ve run a lot of Black Friday sales campaigns in my marketing career, and consumers don’t necessarily win. When we look at the true impact on the customer, merchant, overconsumption and environmental components, the equation is definitely in the deficit,” asserts Valerie Vedrines, founder of Mass Critic.

With rising rates and a volatile economic situation, consumers should not fall into the trap of overconsumption.

“There are polls that say people spend more and some people spend less, which I think has been the case over the last few years at Christmas. On the other hand, there is a risk of people having an unpleasant awakening in January,” says Benoît Duguay, UQAM full professor and consumer expert.

According to Mr. Duguay, traders are very aggressive on weekends because, after supply problems a few months ago, they need to sell their goods before the New Year.

“What I see this year is not consumers buying more, but merchants trying to get consumers into their stores. I have never seen traders try so hard to sell,” he says.

Despite the pitfalls, remember that you can make good deals.

“Buying on Black Friday because we need a mattress or a new winter coat and we’ve heard of discounts, that’s right. In the context of inflation, it’s the right thing to do,” says Ms. Vedrins said.

Watch the full interview in the video above.