Get ready for Black Friday. It’s an American phrase that is actually good news, despite the term, and refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving, which signals the start of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday in November so Black Friday falls on November 28th. It’s a day when discounts are at their peak to promote sales and end the year on a retail high. In India, eBay has introduced ‘Black Friday’ sales that will go on till November 30. The online site is offering bargains on US-based products available to consumers in Indian rupees. It’s another boost to eCommerce in India, already growing at a smoking hot pace.
In fact, since Diwali, players like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon have offered discount schemes on specific days, in sync with the festive season in the country. In December, Google will host the third edition of its annual Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF). Last year, Google had to extend the event by a day after its server crashed due to the heavy traffic, so India is getting into the discount game in a big way. Black Friday used to be the day retailers’ accounts entered the black for the year. Now it’s known for hysterical bombardment of deals online starting in November and extending till New Year, when we get the end of year sales. It may be marketing gimmickry, but the timing seems to be spot on. The Black Friday deals are genuine discounts, some as high as 80%, while the holiday spirit encourages consumers to loosen their purse strings.
