Dollar inflation, low wages and no credit dampened shoppers’ chances of taking advantage of substantial Black Friday deals. Most of the people willing to spend money during this date went to commercial premises with the idea of buying clothes and shoes with a budget of $100
Long queues in front of commercial premises defined this November 25, the last Friday of the month, a date that for the last three years has meant only one thing: the black friday.
In this period of commercial reactivation in Venezuela, businesses and citizens adopted this tradition from the United States and some of the main economic cities in the world. It is a date dedicated to substantial offers to promote consumption in the face of the Christmas season.
While for the United States it is practically a national date, in Venezuela it begins to take its first steps. The offers are reduced and the merchants experience sales strategies. Despite this, consumption multiplied compared to other dates.
Before the start of the day, the president of the National Council of Commerce and Services (Consecomercio), Tiziana Polesel, pointed out that expectations were high for commerce, due to the fact that activity slowed down in the middle of the year after a positive start and they hope to recover in this final stretch, which has historically been of high consumption.
“There is expectation because the year had started well in the first three months, but then there was a slowdown. Any business whose activity is important close to the end of the year will have great expectations, “he said during an interview for Union Radio.
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This scenario was evidenced by SuchWhich in a tour carried out by the first points of interest for this date, in which the high flow of buyers was evidenced and also the failure to meet the expectations of the majority, since many expected to find better offers having as reference the black friday from last year.
Inflation in dollars had an impact on the pockets of Venezuelans, who lost purchasing power due to a 45% more expensive prices of goods and services in dollarsaccording to estimates by the consulting firm Ecoanalítica.
As a result, the $100 that many expected to use to hunt some deals on this date was not enough. For this reason, most shoppers chose to go to cheap clothing and shoe chains, which maintained sales around $15 or $20 per item.
This was the experience of Andrea Valero, who trained for more than 3 hours with the hope of accessing Ciudad Alternativa, a shoe store in the Centro Comercial Sambil. It was just enough money to buy heels for $20 taking advantage of the offer of the black friday.
“I came with the right budget to buy a pair of heels, but I’m seeing where I get the second one because I saw some boots that I wanted,” she told SuchWhich.
Andrea’s story resonates with that of millions of Venezuelans who cannot take advantage of the offers and spend beyond their salary possibilities, faced with a non-existent consumer credit that keeps credit cards as an ornament in their wallets.
This was warned by Polesel in his morning interview. Both merchant and consumer credit are necessary for these kinds of initiatives to work, just as they do in the rest of the world.
«It is also important to recognize that this figure of Black Friday is anchored in most of the countries of the world on credit, which we still do not have. That goes both ways, also consumer credit. I was anticipating Christmas shopping using credit, which we can’t do,” he explained.
low key purchases
A couple walks the main corridor of the Libertador Level of the Sambil. He talks, in an indignant tone, about possible stores that may have significant discounts, since his first visit of the day was disappointing.
«I just entered the Sambil, I took a walk, I went to the one that interested me, Adidas, and it has almost no offer. They have 25% deals on discontinued shoes. $110 shoes fit you for $84. At least Adidas isn’t doing the job like it is. If it is once a year, there should be a good offer,” said Daniel Molina.
The couple intended to buy at least one pair of shoes with $80. They thought it would be enough because previous years they found attractive offers.
“Years ago, when shoes were about $60, you could find prices between $15 and $30 on sale. Now they cost you $90 even with an offer », she reasoned.
This disappointment, although it was widespread, was not present in all the anecdotes. In some cases, people were more than happy with the deals of the day.
«I have observed that there are good prices, although it has not been like the previous years, but everything has gone up, so these offers are profitable. I came with $100. I bought clothes and now I’m going with the shoes. When I leave here I hope to see more stores, because I want to buy gifts for my relatives,” shared Giuliana Bravo.
At the time of declaring, Giuliana was waiting to enter the Apolo shoe store, one of the most demanded of the day. The team SuchWhich he tried to enter the premises to speak with a manager, but Apolo staff received explicit orders not to allow the press to take photos or statements.
Another positive anecdote was offered by Jhonny López, who was leaving the USA Jeans Wear store with a couple of bags in hand. He claimed that he had gotten a lot out of the deals, spending just $150 over the course of a day in which he was preparing to part with between $700 and $1,000.
«The prices are accessible. What I have bought, so far, for my family, is very good. If there were no offers, I think I would have spent between $700 and $1,000, but so far I have $150. I’ll keep looking for offers,” she said.
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Stores prepared for Black Friday
The other side of the coin was represented by the merchants. According to the Venezuelan Chamber of Shopping Centers (Cavececo), 80% of the 131 affiliated buildings would participate in the discounts on this date.
The dealers were prepared with sales goals of at least five figures in foreign exchange. Most reported having a significant flow of sales, at least until 2:00 pm.
«black friday – Up to 70%» highlighted an advertisement at the entrance of the Xcess clothing store, near the entrance to the Sambil. Despite the fact that the store looked empty, with a couple of customers coming in from time to time, its manager, Estefanía Cervantes, assured that so far they had sold quite a few products.
“We have sold a lot. We have offers starting at 20% and reaching up to 70% depending on the model sought. The offers will last until the weekend or even throughout December », he detailed.
Other businesses with a greater influx of customers even expressed encouragement due to the sales registered during the day, as was the case of The Children’s Place, a store dedicated to children’s clothing, with ideal offers for buyers to purchase new releases. decembrinos or even the gift of december.
«The day has been super good. There is a very good movement, it was what we were waiting for as a result of this black friday. We have offers from 30% to 70%. From here they can get the premieres and more than one gift for the children. We are coordinated, our sales strategy has worked for us so far,” said Wendy Gordillo, store manager.
The common feature of all these places is that they are about clothes. Products can be purchased for around $20 and with the budget of many buyers, around $100, to hunt for an interesting offer. For technology stores, the reality is different.
SoyTechno is one of the most popular venues in Sambil. Their Instagram account exceeds 750,000 followers and expectations for the black friday They were high, since they have days advertising great offers for the entire weekend. At least until 2:00 p.m., the store vendors claimed that what was expected on the day was not met.
«During the morning we have been regular. Sales are more concentrated in clothing and accessories stores. In the technological part, expectations have not been met, although as the hours have passed, some specific sales have been made, “said Julio Morán, one of the salesmen of the commercial establishment.
According to Morán, the sales registered in SoyTech did not have a more corporate profile. Some companies also took advantage of the discounts to purchase office equipment, especially laptops that were sold at special prices for large orders.
The little success of SoyTechno and other technology stores seems to be related to prices. Low-end teams hardly have offers. The high-end ones have relevant discounts, but with prices between $700 and $1,500, few are the buyers.
The loss of purchasing power and the lack of credit are the main reasons why only a few Venezuelans can spend these amounts of money. The pollster Datanalisis warned that only 3% of the population has the capacity to participate in this event. This represents approximately 800,000 Venezuelans, according to the president of the company, Luis Vicente León, in an interview for Wave The Superstation.
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The white line disappointed
From the night of Thursday, November 24, Videos of huge queues in front of Multimax stores went viralspecialized in white goods.
As if it were a portrait of typical holiday chaos in the United States, shoppers broke open the doors and rushed inside looking for deals on appliances on Thursday night.
By Friday morning, the chaos had subsided. In the Multimax on Avenida Francisco de Miranda, there was a moderate queue, with many customers inside the building and even more waiting to be dispatched after having purchased.
Local staff indicated that the day was busy, with a massive clientele in the early hours of Friday, with offers of black friday on very specific products, with discounts of between 20% and 30%.
Large TVs were the most requested item over the course of the day, as customers said the appliance deals didn’t match what they expected before the date rolled around.
«The expectation was to get products that they publish on Instagram with offers. He came for a kitchen and other things, but they didn’t have them. The ones that were there were not in line with the prices that I was trying to find,” said Reinaldo Briceño, who went to Multimax with a budget of $300 and was only able to buy a kitchen hood for $120.
The experience was similar for all the buyers consulted by SuchWhich. In line to pay there were few customers with refrigerators, stoves or washing machines. Most buyers brought home televisions.
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