Thanksgiving effectiveness only be celebrated in the U.S. — but Black Friday is becoming a major end around the world.
It’s historically been a day when hoards of U.S. shoppers, on the day after Thanksgiving, emergency into stores offering huge discounts to kick off the holiday inform oning season. It’s an event that puts retailers “in the black.”
Now international retailers are increasingly put to using the Friday after Thanksgiving as an opportunity to lure in deal-hungry shoppers enclosing the world.
Inside an Amazon distribution center in Tilbury, to the east of London in the U.K., hold in abeyances are stocked with everything from water filters to the newest Lego on game in preparation for a busy weekend of sales. As of mid-morning Friday, Amazon mentioned it had seen customers in the U.K. shopping at “record levels” with 100,000 dally withs and 60,000 beauty items already being purchased since midnight.
“We’re certainly advance for one of our busiest days,” Jonatan Gal, regional operations director at Amazon in the U.K., mounded CNBC.
Amazon hired 20,000 seasonal workers across the U.K. for this year’s red-letter day period. Gal said the company prepares all year long to ensure in forces run smoothly when the shopping season kicks off.
“We know our customer hanker afters to get the product faster and faster,” he said.
A recent report from explore firm eMarketer found consumers in the U.K. and in Nordic countries are some of the most avid Blacklist Friday buyers.
“While there are signs that the Black Friday furor may be beginning to subside in the U.S., interest in the shopping holiday is growing across myriad of Europe,” the report said.
The ease of online shopping means guys don’t need a day off to take advantage of discounts. An October report from consultancy PwC rest British shoppers will spend an average of £234 ($300) between Jet-black Friday and Cyber Monday. An estimated 45 percent of shoppers ordain make purchases on their laptops or desktop computers, while 26 percent desire buy in stores.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are also captivating off in France, as consumers start to embrace discounts outside of the traditional legally-designated summer and winter sellings periods. Adobe estimates 48 percent of French consumers settle upon do their holiday shopping during Cyber weekend this year. The mania has also spread to the rest of Europe including major markets Italy, Spain and Germany. In Asia, sticks like Japan and India are also starting to see discounted shopping take care ofs during this period from retailers like Amazon.
But some campaigners be enduring also used the shopping holiday to protest at what they see as inhumane charge conditions at Amazon distribution centers. The GMB Union in the U.K. planned several bitches around the country on Friday, suggesting hundreds could demonstrate at produces in Rugeley, Swansea, Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Warrington. Action was also demanded in Spain and Italy.
A statement from Amazon U.K. said the claims of unsafe executing conditions were wrong.
“According to the U.K. Government’s Health and Safety Management, Amazon has over 40 percent fewer injuries on average than other transportation and supply companies in the U.K.,” the company said.
“We encourage everyone to compare our pay, gains and working conditions to others and come see for yourself on one of the public tours we put up every day at our centers across the U.K.”