Cost-of-living crisis casts shadow over Black Friday across Europe
"We already started the promotions at the end of October and the beginning of November, because we see that we need a longer period of sales," Miha Drganec, sales manager at the Big Bang Electronic Store in Ljubljana, told Xinhua.
The outlook for traditional winter sales in the eurozone is subdued this year and any boost will not be enough to prevent consumer spending from contracting in the fourth quarter, Tomas Dvorak, a senior economist at economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, said.
Gloom is also expected to hang over Europe through Christmas. "Consumers are unlikely to splurge during the Christmas sales and are much more likely to get thrifty. Similarly, retailers' assessment of current and expected business conditions heading into the festive season has been bleak," Dvorak added.
No quick improvement is in sight. Inflation is expected to decline in 2023 but will likely remain high at 7 percent in the European Union and 6.1 percent in the eurozone, statistics showed.
"I think it's important also to keep your life going but still maybe save on something that is not a necessity, that you do not really need right now. And then hopefully inflation will stop rising, and we can all return to a bit more normal life," Steffen Nielsen, a customer in Copenhagen, told Xinhua.