Black Friday was Lukewarm for Physical Retail and Moderate for Electronics, According to Cielo and Neotrust Monitoring

Despite a modest overall increase, e-commerce stood out on Friday with a growth of 14.1%, while physical retail experienced a 0.7% increase, according to Cielo.
Hourly monitoring indicates that between Thursday and Sunday, e-commerce generated approximately R$ 5.2 billion, a 14.6% decrease compared to 2022.

Carlos Alves, Vice President of Technology and Business at Cielo

By: SiiLA News

11/28/2023

Black Friday 2023 kicked off at midnight last Friday (24) and engaged retailers worldwide. Financial services company Cielo's data reveals that, in Brazil, the date experienced modest growth compared to the previous year.

According to the Cielo Retail Extended Index (ICVA), sales for one of the most crucial retail dates increased by only 2.1% compared to 2022. Despite the overall modest increase, e-commerce stood out with a growth of 14.1%, while physical retail experienced a 0.7% increase.

"The Retail performance on Black Friday was even better than observed throughout the month of November, which was already positive. The date, once again, reinforced the role of e-commerce, the main driver of sales in commerce during this period. Year after year, the segment records double-digit growth," says Carlos Alves, Vice President of Technology and Business at Cielo.

The segments that stood out the most were Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene, with 18.8% growth, and Tourism and Transportation, with 15.2%. Following closely are the Optical and Jewelry group, and also Furniture and Department, both with 11%. Among the sectors impacted by Black Friday, the Bookstores and Stationeries sector experienced the most significant contraction, with a decline of 2.8%. Supermarkets and Hypermarkets (-1.9%) and Construction Materials (-1.2%) also recorded decreases.

In nominal terms, which do not consider the effects of inflation, the results of Black Friday 2023 were only 0.8% below the revenue for the date in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Alves explains that despite the results of physical stores, it does not mean that their presence is threatened. He clarifies that one does not exclude the other, and omnichannel is the path for coexistence.

"Physical stores are crucial for Retail and for the establishment's relationship with its customers. The fact that the sales variation in the physical universe was lower than in e-commerce on Black Friday does not mean that stores are under threat. […] In practice, physical and digital are not mutually exclusive. Omnichannel is the way to reinforce both," explains the executive.

Black Friday and Black Week

The average ticket was R$ 639.47

Data from the Hora a Hora platform, by Confi.Neotrust in partnership with ClearSale, retail data intelligence companies, show that between Thursday (23) and Sunday (26), the order volume reached R$ 8.2 million, a 16.3% decrease compared to last year. In terms of sales values, e-commerce generated approximately R$ 5.2 billion, a 14.6% decrease compared to 2022. The average ticket, according to the study, was R$ 639.47 – 2.1% more than the previous year.

"For the second consecutive year, we had a Black Friday weekend below the retail's expectations. This decline may be linked to various factors, such as the post-pandemic slowdown in e-commerce, which reduced purchase orders, and the dilution of sales throughout November, avoiding concentration only on Black Friday," comments Matheus Manssur, Commercial Superintendent at ClearSale.

Black November

Called Black November, the dilution mentioned by Manssur was a widely observed practice among retailers, especially those in e-commerce. Amazon, for example, offered discounts of up to 80% on products before the date that was supposed to mark a milestone for retail.

Cielo reveals that Black November purchases increased by 0.1% compared to the same period last year. E-commerce grew by 9.4, while the physical universe declined by 0.6%. The analysis considered sales made between November 1 and November 23 of this year compared to the same period last year.

"We noticed that Retail has taken advantage of the date to reinforce sales throughout the entire month of November. This week, in particular, the result was mainly driven by the performances of Tourism and Transportation and Clothing," says the Vice President of Technology and Business at Cielo.

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