New Black Friday Report Suggests Half Of Kiwis Will Shop This Black Friday, Despite Cost-of-living Crisis

• A new Black Friday Report released from PriceSpy reveals Black Friday has fast become one of the country’s biggest sale events, with new survey findings and insights released in the Report highlighting:
  • Three out of five Kiwis have previously purchased on Black Friday or Black Week;
  • Consumer purchase interest is at its highest on Black Friday.
• But with consumers facing a cost-of-living crisis, how will this year’s sale season shape up?
  • 95 per cent say they have noticed price increases happening across consumer goods, fuel and grocery items.
• And PriceSpy research confirms that price increases have occurred across popular shopping categories.
• With Kiwis facing so many challenges this year, will they shop this Black Friday season? According to survey findings, the answer is yes!
  • Half of Kiwis intend to buy this Black Friday or Black Week;
  • But numbers have dropped in comparison to last year (2021);
  • And two fifths say they do not intend to buy this Black Friday or Black Week.
• Even though consumers are worried by the cost-of-living crisis, on average, those that do intend to shop are looking to spend $731.
• PriceSpy urges bricks and mortar retailers to brace themselves, as survey findings indicate that shoppers will return to shopping in-store this Black Friday season.

A new Report released by the fully impartial price and product comparison site, PriceSpy, reveals Black Friday has fast become one of the country’s biggest sale events in the calendar year, reportedly generating $248.2million worth in sales last year*.

According to a survey commissioned for The Black Friday Report, three out of five (60 per cent) Kiwis this year have previously purchased something on Black Friday or Black Week. But with consumers facing a cost-of-living crisis, how will this year’s sale season shape up?

Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, New Zealand country manager for PriceSpy, says: “Black Friday has grown exponentially in size and popularity and is now one the biggest shopping days in New Zealand ahead of Christmas.

• Consumer purchase interest data from PriceSpy reveals Black Friday to be the biggest shopping day across the calendar year ahead of Christmas.***

“But, no one is immune to the cost-of-living crisis. And with consumers and businesses both facing economic uncertainties, we expect this Black Friday season to look a little different,” says Liisa.

Kiwis are worried by the cost-of-living crisis

Survey results shared in The Black Friday Report reveal consumer anxiety surrounding the cost-of-living crisis is high. What’s more, consumers are noticing price hikes:

• A staggering nine out of 10 Kiwis (93 per cent) feel worried by the cost-of-living crisis**;
• And shockingly, nine out of 10 Kiwis (95 per cent) noticed price increases across consumer goods, fuel and grocery items**.

And PriceSpy’s comprehensive pricing research confirms price increases have occurred:

Liisa continues: “Our latest insights strongly suggest that the cost-of-living crisis is causing alarm amongst Kiwis, with many feeling the financial burden of price rises.

“Outside of the rising cost of grocery and fuel, our independent pricing research over the last year reveals how much prices have increased across popular consumer goods categories.”

Price increase examples from PriceSpy:

• The average price across the most-popular mobile phones on PriceSpy cost +$392 more in October 2022 than in October 2021****
• The average price across the most-popular cookers on PriceSpy cost +$155 more in October 2022 than in October 2021****
• The average price across the most-popular TVs on PriceSpy cost +$190 more in October 2022 than in October 2021****

“It will be interesting to see if retailers can afford to offer consumers good discounts this Black Friday and Black Week, or if this year’s Black Friday prices end up being more expensive than last year,” says Liisa.

Kiwis will still shop this Black Friday!

Despite shoppers facing uncertainty around the cost-of-living crisis, the survey revealed half (53 per cent) of Kiwis intend to buy across Black Friday or Black Week this year. What’s more:

• Compared to pre-Covid-19 times (PriceSpy’s 2018 survey results), the number of Kiwis that intend to buy on Black Friday or Black Week has increased by almost a fifth (+18 per cent)**
• However, compared to last year’s survey results (2021), the number of Kiwis intending to shop on Black Friday or Black Week fell, dropping -12 per cent. Meaning one in 10 people that planned to shop on Black Friday or Black Week last year don’t intend to this year**

And shoppers intend to spend big this Black Friday season!

Survey findings in The Black Friday Report also reveal that shoppers intend to spend big this Black Friday and Black Week:

• Of those that intend to buy this Black Friday or Black Week, almost two-thirds (63 per cent) are looking to spend over $500 (a four per cent rise on last year's results (2021) and a 22 per cent uptick compared to 2020’s survey results)**;
• And the average amount Kiwis plan to spend on Black Friday or Black Week this year is an impressive $731**.
• Interestingly, compared to PriceSpy’s survey findings two years ago (2020 survey), the average amount Kiwis intend to spend on Black Friday or Black Week this year (2022) has increased significantly, rising 57 per cent ($464.50 in 2020 vs $731.40 in 2022)**.

“Even though less people intend to shop this year compared to last year (2021), surprisingly the average amount people expect to spend is still a lot, at $731, says Liisa.

“As consumers try to navigate the cost-of-living crisis, one reason why shoppers are looking to spend so much across this year’s Black Friday and Black Week, is to make the most of the discounts offered.

“For example, if a consumer tried to purchase a high ticket item earlier this year, such as a fridge freezer or washing machine, but was put off by the elevated price they were being sold for, they may be delaying their purchase to buy at a cheaper time, like Black Friday or Black Week.

“Shoppers may also be using the sale season to shop smartly, buying the bulk of their Christmas gifts earlier when prices are lower. This shopping tactic also helps to spread the overall cost over two months.”

But not everyone will shop…

Interestingly, this year’s survey findings also reveal that two out of five Kiwis (42 per cent) do not intend to buy this Black Friday or Black Week, presenting a year-on-year increase of +13 per cent.

“The cost-of-living crisis may well be holding some people back from planning to buy this Black Friday season, but there are also wider reasons at play, says Liisa.”

Covid restrictions are no longer - Purchase interest last year was higher than normal due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. So, pent-up consumer purchase demand was higher last year.

Life is returning back to normal - Last year, many Kiwis were in lockdown and were encouraged to work from home. With lots of schools also closed, consumers did not need to spend as much on fuel and transport costs – they could afford to splurge more frivolously.

Consumers are choosing to shop more consciously - Some of this year’s spending caution may be driven by the cost-of-living crisis. But shoppers may also be purchasing more consciously, opting out of participating in large sales events simply for the sake of buying.

Priorities have changed - Another factor holding people back from taking part in the Black Friday season this year is that people may want to spend any spare money they have on meaningful experiences they couldn’t otherwise have had because of the pandemic and restrictions. So, travel and holidays, catching up with friends and family etc may be higher on the agenda. People’s priorities have changed!

Retailers should brace themselves – almost half of Kiwis plan to shop in-store!

With life almost back to normal, PriceSpy’s survey results this year indicate Kiwis, once again, prefer the hype and in-person experience of shopping in-store:

• Almost half of the respondents (48 per cent) surveyed say they plan to do most of their Black Friday and Black Week shopping in-store – a year-on-year uplift of 10 per cent**

“Even though Black Friday was traditionally an in-store affair, in recent years, and especially since it’s become popular in New Zealand, its online presence has grown - with lots of stores offering Black Friday sales online,” says Liisa.

“This change was largely driven by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, which changed the shopping landscape – people perhaps felt safer shopping online, rather than mix with others in-store.

“This year however is different and it seems shoppers are once again ready to return to shop in-store, and businesses will welcome this.”

Liisa concludes: “With lots of discounts being offered over the next few weeks, our key piece of advice to anyone looking to shop in-store or online is to carry out essential price comparison research using a free price comparison app or website, like PriceSpy.”

Find the best Black Friday deals in one easy place on PriceSpy’s Black Friday page.

Download the PriceSpy app here.

www.pricespy.co.nz

Black Friday Report

Part One of The Black Friday Report is available to read in full on PriceSpy’s Newsroom.

Part Two of The Black Friday Report will provide more information about the types of deals people can expect this Black Friday season (not to mention tips on how to spot a fake sale or a price hike). This will be released soon.

Graphs

All graphs featured in Part One of The Black Friday Report are available to download, here.

Sources

*Worldline on Scoop

**The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey

The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey in 2022 was conducted by 3Gem, in October 2022, on 500 New Zealand respondents.

The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey in 2021 was conducted by 3Gem, in October 2021, on 500 New Zealand respondents.

The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey in 2020 was conducted by 3Gem, in October 2020, on 500 New Zealand respondents.

The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey in 2019 was conducted by Savanta, in October 2019, on 506 New Zealand respondents. * The PriceSpy consumer omnibus survey in 2018 was conducted by VIGA (now Savanta), on 30 October 2018, on 527 New Zealand respondents.

**** PriceSpy Price Index compared average price across most-popular products in categories (1 - 31 October 2021 Vs 1 - 31 October 2022)

About PriceSpy

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