New data released from the fully impartial price and product comparison service, PriceSpy, reveals the number of Kiwis searching out Black Friday discounts is growing exponentially, increasing for a second year running.
Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, New Zealand country manager for PriceSpy, says: “Black Friday is fast becoming a serious sales shopping day for Kiwis who are looking to buy products at a more affordable price ahead of Christmas.
In 2016, PriceSpy witnessed a 61% per cent year on year increase in visitor numbers on Black Friday and last year this number grew a further 14 per cent.
Liisa continues: “According to our historical data, Black Friday is now three times larger than any other Friday during November, demonstrating just how popular it has become amongst price-savvy shoppers.
Our insights reveal Kiwis are also strategic about when they shop, as online traffic starts to peak around midnight the night before Black Friday, with many offers starting then. These numbers then tail off during the early hours of Black Friday morning before picking up again and peaking between 06.00 and 08.00.
Whilst Black Friday is traditionally a day for deals, for the last two years our figures show 10 per cent of all products listed on PriceSpy actually received a price hike on Black Friday. Similarly, 17 per cent of the top 100 products listed on our site last Black Friday, also increased in price by an average nine per cent. We therefore couldn’t recommend strongly enough that consumers need to do their research ahead of time, as there’s nothing worse than making a purchase to later find you could have bought it cheaper on another day.
We suggest consumers start using a price comparison site early, to help them get a feel for what kind of products will carry the biggest discounts, as this will help to save time searching on the day.”
Based on historical price data, PriceSpy predicts the cheapest Black Friday 2018 products will come from the shopping category of audio and video, so products like headphones, portable speakers and tablets will be worth keeping an eye on.
So, what’s going to be popular this Black Friday? Here are PriceSpy’s top 2018 predictions:
Most popular Black Friday categories for 2018
Most popular Black Friday products for 2018
- Sony WH-1000XM3
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Ultimate Ears UE Boom 2
- Apple AirPods
- Apple iPad 9.7” 32GB
- LG OLED65C8PTA
- Dyson V8 Absolute
- Fitbit Charge 2
- Sony Playstation 4 Pro
- GoPro Hero 7
Most popular shops for Black Friday 2018:
- PB Tech
- Expert Infotech
- Harvey Norman
- Mighty Ape
- Heathcote Appliances
To make things easier, consumers can click here on Black Friday to find all the offers from all the online shops, in one handy place.
Black Friday fun facts
- Black Friday is a name for the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which has been regarded as the beginning of the country’s Christmas shopping season since 1952*
- The day did not become widely recognised until the early 2000s*
- In the United States, most major retailers open very early (as early as overnight hours) and offer promotional sales*
- Black Friday as a shopping phenomenon is now widely seen in many developed countries*
- Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since 2005*
- 77 million people shop in brick and mortar stores on Black Friday and throughout the Black Friday weekend in America**
- 174 million Americans shop on Black Friday, either online or in stores**
- Today, the average American spends $355 on Thanksgiving weekend and about 75% of that moneys goes towards gifts