Recent e-commerce trends in a research by Reacty Digital & LogiNet

The 2020 festive season is fast approaching, so Black Friday promotions will soon fire up the audience open to it. While last year only one in 3 people shopped as part of some Black Friday campaign, this year, despite the economic uncertainty caused by COVID, half of the Hungarian population plans to do so. They are the ones who are particularly pleased that in-store and online promotions do not just last for 1 day, so they certainly will not miss out on the discounts, revealed a joint survey of 18–79-year-olds by LogiNet and Reacty Digital.

Store or webshop, discount matters the most

There is practically no one in Hungary who have not heard of the Black Friday phenomenon yet, but while last year 66 percent of people were not interested in promotions and did not shop during this period, this year this number could drop to 49 percent. More than half of those surveyed plan to purchase some discount product for themselves or their loved ones in this season either online or offline. One would think that due to the danger of the coronavirus, the number of people planning to shop online will clearly increase to the detriment of store visits, but this will not necessarily be the case: while last year 6 percent of people decided to use Black Friday discounts only offline, this year this number could rise to 8 percent - they are going for the biggest recurring promotions in masks, in the form of physical purchases.

The popularity of Black Friday is unbroken in the online space as well: in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, one in five research participants will shop online, while one in four people will go on a discount hunt both online and offline in 2020.

The difference in attitudes between those going for online and offline discounts is shown by the fact that while 62 percent of the former group are decidedly disturbed by the crowd, only half of those considering in-store shopping said the same, according to a recent survey by e-commerce software developer LogiNet Systems, and Reacty Digital.

Health under the tree

In the heat of gift shopping, we seem to be forgetting our wallets open this year on Black Friday: compared to two years ago, we would spend only HUF 2,000 (€5) less, despite the period of economic challenges and unexpected expenses related to the coronavirus. Discount lovers plan to spend an average of HUF 40,000 (€110) per person on discounted products.

The popularity of fashion items remains unchanged (36%), but games (27%), consumer electronics (26%), mobile phones (25%), home furnishings (24%), home appliances (23%) and hotel reservations (22%) will also be included in virtual or physical carts. Unsurprisingly, purchases of health and wellness-related items could grow the most: 9 percent more than in 2018, with 23 percent of respondents planning to place a health-related gift under the tree this year. This may be associated with a coronavirus pandemic and more health-conscious decisions.

Black Friday, for weeks

For years, there has been a trend that both online and offline Black Friday promotions are not limited to just one day, the last Friday in November, but last for weeks, even until Christmas. Half of the buyers (49%) are especially happy about this, so they can save themselves from the ‘Everything-In-One-Day’ kind of stress. Ongoing price hunting will be necessary because only one in three shoppers is aware of when certain stores will be announcing their Black Friday promotion.

More conscious buyers

Price comparison sites have long helped shoppers hunt for the biggest discounts, and their popularity is unbroken: a survey by Reacty Digital and e-commerce specialist LogiNet found that three-quarters of online shopping planners compare prices and multiple websites before pressing the pay button to catch the best discounts.

Some are already feverish from the percentage of the discount, others look for the well-known, favoured brand names to guarantee that they will actually get the package they want. It is a well-established trend that by 2020 the most important thing for the respondents is to buy from a reliable, well-known place during the promotional periods. The scale of the discount was highlighted by only every 5th respondent as a top priority.

Merchants, prepare!

Due to the increased online traffic, not all purchases are expected to end with a happy smile, delays and stock shortages may occur. Limited product volume was reported by a third of last year’s online shoppers. From the buyers' point of view, however, it can be encouraging that both in 2018 and 2019, despite increasing online traffic and congestion, the number of did not change, affecting one-fifth of purchases, according to respondents.

In 2019, one in seven people (14%) was disappointed with some Black Friday shopping. In addition to delays and stock shortages, respondents cited the lack of individual promotions as the main reasons for disappointment - although at first glance it seemed like a big deal, it later turned out that the selected product could also be purchased elsewhere at similar or lower prices.

Merchants can also slip on the discount: in a Reacty Digital survey on a similar topic last year, three-quarters of those surveyed said promotions above 50 percent were unreliable, but this year, half of respondents do not think expected promotions are big enough. In other words, the half-price product is suspicious, but the small discount is not attractive enough - this is also worth keeping in mind for traders this year!

Zsigmond Máriás, Managing Director of LogiNet Systems Ltd.:

“This is not the first Black Friday in e-commerce - both customers and online merchants already have experience. Customers make their decisions based on the accumulated knowledge; it is time for webshops to implement these experiences as well. E-merchants should be prepared for the promotion period with improved performance, well-thought-out resource management and pre-testing.”

Black Friday 2020 research: representative research by Reacty Digital, IFUA Horváth & Partners Kft., And LogiNet, October 2020