Only a few tourists walked on bags full of clothes, Na Příkopě Street and Wenceslas Square. At the same time, the local shops display posters for Black Friday, the weekend and the week almost all over the shop window.
Even in the Palladium shopping center on Republic Square, it didn’t look like one of the biggest sales events of the year was taking place on Friday morning. Catering establishments were also empty around noon. It was only a few hours before the government’s measure banning food consumption in shopping malls. It came into force on Friday at 6 pm.
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“Unfortunately, this year customers can’t combine a visit to Palladium with the Christmas markets in front of the mall and sit down and eat at the food court. On the gastronomic floor, we expect lower sales than usual on Black Friday, “says Milan Rumler, a spokesman for the Palladium shopping center, to the E15 daily.
The situation was similar to the normal Friday, even in other shopping centers, as confirmed by Pavel Urban, Deputy Head of Shopping Center at CBRE. Usually, however, according to him, attendance is high on Black Friday.
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According to Rumler, events such as Black Friday usually culminate on Friday afternoons and on Saturdays, when peak times come. “We expect sales to be higher than they were on standard weekends, despite the measures in place,” he adds.
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Shops with fashion, cosmetics or assortment for pets have prepared up to half discounts for customers this year. The Bageterie Boulevard and Vapiano snack chains have also joined the trade holiday.
This year, e-shops tend to benefit from the shopping holiday, some of them started it in advance. For example, the Mall.cz e-shop launched the event at the beginning of October, offering goods with discounts until Sunday.
“We expect that people will receive gifts this year, as in the previous year, due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation on the Internet, in peace and security at home. That is why we expect this year’s Black Friday and Christmas to be very strong again, “says Mallu spokeswoman Pavla Hobíková.
According to a survey by the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK), 65 percent of online customers plan to use the “shopping holiday” this year. There are 83 percent of them under the age of 24. They intend to buy at least part of the Christmas presents at discounts.
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