Today's Black Friday sales reflected stay-at-home trends, as clothing fell right out of favour but electronics sold as well if not better than last year.
Across clothing retailers, some shops saw a drop of up to 50 per cent in business compared to Black Friday last year, Abigail Mamo, president of the Chamber of SMEs, told Times of Malta.
Others managed to keep the decline to around 15 to 20 per cent, Mamo said.
Electronics shops, however, reported sales more or less in line with their previous levels, with some even seeing a better take than last year.
The worst-hit were shops that specialise in elegant or occasion wear, which typically see a boost in business for the Christmas season. This time, there was no uptick in business.
“Unfortunately given the present situation and restrictions on gatherings and events typically associated with the Christmas season, consumers didn’t really see the need to go for these kinds of products,” Mamo said.
“Home electronics, as expected, was the sector that did best this Black Friday,” she continued.
“We are seeing a trend of people staying at home more frequently so consumers are in turn investing more in products or entertainment for their homes," she said.
She noted that largely, sales were in line with what retailers were expecting given the situation.
“Given that it’s a COVID year, I would say most were expecting to see less business and to a certain extent they have met those expectations,” she said.
“What is interesting is the effort to regroup business given the limitations. Many outlets chose to spread their offers over a number of days, so what they saw last year in a day or two they saw over the course of the week, but they still got the sales.”
Mamo noted that while online shopping did very well, many had not considered Black Friday as a one-day event.
Some retailers expected more customers to visit on Friday evening after work, while others said their offers were extending over the weekend, where they expected sales to continue.
Asked whether Black Friday had served to mitigate some of the losses experienced by retailers after having to remain closed during the partial lockdown between March and June, Mamo said the situation as a whole would have to improve for business to improve.
“While remaining sensitive to those who didn’t see the business they wished for this Black Friday, in many cases, even though numbers did not reach last year’s level, it was a very good business day for this year,” Mamo said.
“We have seen big losses across the board this year and these will need to be recovered over a normal year, not a COVID year. But it did give businesses a boost, not just in sales but also in morale.”