Not only has Black Friday become increasingly popular among the Dutch population, with more and more people planning to buy products during the discount period in November, but according to comparison site Overstappen.nl, around a third of shoppers in the Netherlands have delayed purchases until Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
While Black Friday officially takes place on November 29, the day after Thanksgiving, many stores and webshops have capitalised on the idea, offering deals for the whole week or even the entire month of November.
Research by Overstappen.nl has shown that a third of Dutch residents wait for Black Friday to make purchases. This is especially common among younger people between the ages of 18 and 34, with 58 percent of shoppers in this age group taking advantage of the sales.
The price comparison site found that as age increases, this becomes less common; people aged 35 to 54 years (32 percent) and those aged 55 or older (12 percent) were less likely to postpone purchases until the discount period. Research by ABN Amro also supports this data, reporting that eight out of 10 Gen Z shoppers (born between 2000 and 2015) took advantage of a Black Friday deal in 2023, while only one in 14 Baby Boomers (born before 1955) made a purchase during the same period.
Based on a survey of 2.099 respondents, ABN Amro has reported that clothing, shoes and electronics are the most common purchases during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to the Dutch bank, half of shoppers who plan to make purchases during the promotional period buy something from these categories, with women showing a preference for fashion and men more likely to buy electronics.
Household appliances are also a popular choice accounting for 20 percent of purchases, reports Overstappen.nl. On the other hand, the category that people spend the least on is furniture and interiors, making up only 5 percent of sales.
Deals on physical items aren’t the only popular purchases though, as many residents also switch to more affordable internet providers and television subscriptions. “Due to the attractive discounts and welcome gifts, Black Friday is becoming an increasingly interesting moment to switch providers,” Telecom and insurance expert for Overstappen.nl, Jean-Paul Würsten wrote.
The Dutch Payments Association estimated that during the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year, compared to a normal week in November 5 percent more debit card payments were made with a total of 66,5 million transactions. The total turnover was also around 15 percent higher at 1,86 billion euros.
More and more people think that this discount period is great at 30 percent of people surveyed - up from 18 percent in 2022. On the other hand, 32 percent of people don’t like the idea of Black Friday - down from 47 percent two years ago.
Almost half of the participants in the ABN Amro survey believe that the promotional period leads to “unnecessary overconsumption” and that it has a negative impact on both the environment and society. However, 40 percent of people in this group still expect to make a purchase.
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