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Black Week: time for sales lovers

For years, Black Friday has attracted the interest of many Saudis. This shopping holiday, which comes from the United States, draws in crowds of consumers who are making the best of the discounts offered to them. That is why, seeing the interest of clients, stores decided to expand their offers for the entire week, not just Black Friday. Thanks to that, discount lovers can enjoy rebates from the Monday preceding Black Friday until Cyber Monday.

Picodi.com analytics decided to check the attitude of Saudis toward Black Friday, where in Saudi Arabia the interest in Black Week sales is the biggest, as well as how much money consumers spend and what they buy.

To buy or not to buy?

Two-thirds of Saudis (67 per cent) took part in last year’s Black Friday sales. Although this number may surprise, in reality not all consumers participated in the sale on Black Friday itself. 52 per cent of shoppers decided to shop on Friday, but as much as 50 per cent did their shopping from Monday to Thursday, and 21 per cent enjoyed special offers over the weekend after Black Friday (Saturday and Sunday).

The vast majority of shoppers (92 per cent) was satisfied or rather satisfied with their Black Friday experiences. 8 per cent of respondents were rather unsatisfied.

Among the people who did not take part in last year’s Black Friday, the most common reason (64 per cent of answers) was that they did not know what Black Friday is at all. 15 per cent of people taking part in the survey simply missed the event. The remaining pointed out that the discounts were too low or that the products that they wanted to buy were not on sale (15 and 6 per cent respectively).

Regions where people love promotions

Based on online search queries, we found the provinces where the interest in Black Friday sales increased the most from 2016 to 2019. Al Bahah took the first place with a 191 per cent increase. Jizan, where the increase of interest amounted to 126 per cent, placed second. Najran and Al Jawf tied for the third place — in both these provinces, the interest in discounts increased as much as 88 per cent.

The least interested in Black Friday sales are citizens of Riyadh (increase by 22 per cent), Mecca and Ha’il (23 per cent each).

Big bucks

Statistically, Saudis spend 670 SAR on Black Friday. It is worth noting that men spend more money than women during Black Friday sales: 717 vs 608 SAR. It doesn’t necessarily mean that men buy more than women — they could just buy more expensive items.

When asked about Black Friday spending, many respondents claimed they are going to spend a similar amount as last year (26 per cent). More than half is planning to spend more (56 per cent), and 18 per cent is going to spend less money than last Black Friday.

People who are going to spend more usually justified their answers by the fact that they are going to buy some expensive item this year, such as electronics or home appliances (50 per cent indicated such reason). 38 per cent is planning to simply buy more products, and 21 per cent are going to buy more luxurious products than last year. On the other hand, among the people who are planning to spend less, 45 per cent said that their smaller budget is caused by job loss. 36 per cent is not planning expensive shopping this year, and 55 per cent is going to buy fewer items.

Selling like hotcakes

Invariably, electronics are among the products which rule during Black Friday sales. It is the most frequently chosen category of products — 42 per cent of consumers will buy electronics. Clothes and food on delivery tied for the second top category (34 per cent each).

Groceries were next with 17 per cent, followed by cosmetics (15 per cent). Jewellery was less popular during Black Week (13 per cent), similarly to sports items (12 per cent), and shoes or travel (11 per cent each). Child care articles rounded out the top ten categories with 9 per cent.

Methodology

All statistical data comes from Picodi.com, a global discount platform operating since 2010. The survey conducted in September 2020 was also used in the report.

Public Use

Would you like to share information about Black Week with your readers? All the data and infographics presented in this report can be freely used for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage.

Learn about Black Friday 2023 in other parts of the world