The traditional pre-Christmas shopping period is no longer the most crucial phase for the Otto Group, a major German retailer. According to Petra Scharner-Wolff, Chairwoman of the Hamburg-based company’s Executive Board, the “Black Friday” event has superseded it as the year’s peak sales period.
Originally imported from the United States and consistently held on the fourth Thursday of November, Black Friday has become the “ultimate peak” in online retail. Scharner-Wolff stated that the two weeks surrounding the event have overtaken Christmas as the key time for consumer purchases.
The Black Friday phenomenon is largely defined by promotional discounts. To maintain profitability amidst these aggressive pricing strategies, the Otto Group utilizes dynamic pricing across its platforms, including Otto, Bonprix, Witt, Frankonia and Baur. This means that prices for items such as smartphones, sweaters and washing machines can fluctuate hourly, or even more frequently. Scharner-Wolff emphasized that businesses relying solely on discounts are unlikely to remain sustainable in the long term.