'Red Friday': America’s Black Friday turns a more auspicious colour for Chinese shoppers
Mainland consumers and online traders are embracing Black Friday – the American shopping extravaganza in which retailers offer big discounts ahead of the fourth Friday of November – with some giving it a more auspicious new name: Red Friday.
Bargain prices for foreign brands, widely accepted payment methods such as Unionpay and Alipay, and the participation of Chinese e-commerce firms are contributing to the sales, once again underscoring the huge purchasing power of Chinese consumers – most recently witnessed during the November 11 Singles Day shopping carnival.
Beijing office worker Yang Qian started chasing Black Friday promotions two weeks ago.
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The 36-year-old has spent nearly 20,000 yuan (HK$24,200) – close to her monthly salary – on boots, snow-proof footwear, bags, beauty products and lingerie for herself and relatives on foreign shopping websites including Amazon US.
“It’s now easy to make the payment with credit cards and Alipay both available on many shopping websites,” Yang said. “Compared with last year’s [Black Friday] promotions, more websites have opened international shipping services.”
Yang bought a few daily necessities and household appliances during the recent Singles Day (or Double 11) shopping extravaganza, but said the deals were much better for Black Friday, especially for foreign brands. Chinese e-commerce companies also hope to clock up big sales.