Research from consultancy NielsenIQ, obtained exclusively by Folha de S.Paulo, shows that non-prescription alcoholic beverages and medicines are among the most searched for products in ecommerce for Black Friday this year.
The traditional sale date with the promotion is set for November 24. It is expected that online food and beverage purchases will continue to grow in 2023 and repeat the history recorded in recent years.
Interest in online consumption of these products reached 22% in 2023, compared to 8% in 2015. Of this total, NielsenIQ highlighted searches for alcoholic beverages – which increased from 61% in 2022 to 65% this year.
“During Black Friday, consumers want to take advantage of promotions to purchase a premium product that they don’t have on a daily basis,” says Mariana De Paula, marketing director at NielsenIQ. For example, this list includes wine, gin, whiskey, and craft beer.
In the health sector, according to the consultancy, the greatest demand for online purchases is for non-prescription medicines. The interest rate in this category reaches up to 54%.
The explanation for this movement is the search for lower prices for products that can be stored for a long time, such as headache medicine. “The same behavior applies to products like powdered milk,” says De Paula.
The online survey was conducted by the consultancy in September with 1,535 consumers across all regions of the country. NielsenIQ shows that consumers are more attentive to product prices. For every 1% price increase in a category, sales volume falls by an average of 2.5%.
According to Alfredo Costa, president of NielsenIQ in the country, such a huge impact on sales from a price change had never been seen before.
The indicator gives an indication of expected behavior on Black Friday. This year, for example, 79% intend to take advantage of offers on the Internet around this date. Three years ago, it was 90%.
Mindful of consumer burnout, retailers moved Black Friday up to much earlier than the last Friday in November, further incentivizing the “warm up”, which was extended to the beginning of the month.
This year, for the first time, purchase intention before date (50%) in online retail has exceeded after date (45%).
Still, according to Costa, Black Friday 2023 should show a 5% increase in sales volume compared to last year – when it recorded the first decline in sales in its history – and an 8% increase in value, which will keep pace with inflation. Crossed. Accumulated in the year, about 5%.
“It’s important to be the first to guarantee a spot in the consumer’s pocket, hence the importance of ‘Esquanta Black Friday’ in the weeks leading up to the date,” the executive says.
He says that even as COVID-19 is under control and Brazil’s average income approaches pre-pandemic levels, inflation in recent years has been eroding consumer purchasing power.
Costa says this behavior causes a phenomenon in Brazil similar to that already seen in Argentina, a market that has suffered from inflation for decades, that is, a rise in price comparisons.
“Since salaries can buy less, the consumer has no choice but to make more comparisons, whether with other brands or even with products in related categories.” This means, for example, swapping out stuffed biscuits for Maria biscuits, spaghetti for instant noodles, and ham for ham, he says.
Despite tight budgets, purchase intent increased in high added-value categories such as electronics, home appliances, computers and cell phones.
“Last year, because the World Cup coincided with Black Friday, electronics purchases were affected,” says Costa. This is because those who wanted to prepare for the world football tournament had already purchased their TV or smartphone.
Similarly, online shopping also took a back seat, he says, as the consumer was fixated on the tournament.
“This year, we do not have the World Cup and we have also seen some decline in interest rates, which is favorable for sales of durable products,” says the executive.
On the other hand, the categories with the biggest decline in online shopping intentions on Black Friday 2023 include Fashion & Accessories, Toys & Games, and Jewelry.
The pet store and sports and leisure categories remained at the same level as last year, each mentioned by 10% of online consumers.
Among e-commerce fans, intent to purchase on a date increased for self (81% to 83%), for family (37% to 42%) and decreased for gift giving (drop from 26% to 24%) .
Regarding the stores most missed by Internet users on Black Friday, the leaders are Amazon, Magazine Luiza and Mercado Livre.
Last year, American – which is now in judicial recovery, with declared debts of R$42.5 billion – was first on the list, followed by Amazon and Magalu. (Danielle Madureira/Folhapress)