The first-ever Korean adaptation of the “Black Friday” sales in the U.S. appears to be just another sales period.
While the Black Friday event in the U.S., which takes place the day after Thanksgiving, is a once-a-year deal offering steep discounts of up to 80 percent on a wide range of items, the same event here which kicked off Thursday for a two-week run is not much more than the regular autumn sale under a different name.
People who flocked to department stores in search of bargains Thursday report being let down by the 10-30 percent discounts. Only a limited range of electronics goods and household appliances had 20-30 percent discounts, to the disappointment of buyers who came looking for deals that were better than those offered during regular sales events.
Some 27,000 shops are participating in the Black Friday event organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The aim of the special sales period is to boost the sluggish domestic spending that suffered from the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak earlier this year.
Unlike the U.S. event, which is driven by the needs of retailers who wish to clear their inventories, in Korea it is driven by the government’s need to drive up domestic spending. Perhaps this is an important distinction that explains the huge gap in discounts offered in the U.S. and in Korea. There is no real incentive for Korean retailers to clear out stock at this time of the year.
The special event also includes interest-free installment payment plans offered by credit card companies. While this would help to boost spending, there is also a danger of encouraging overspending by those who can ill afford it.
Many participating retailers complained that they were only given short notice to prepare before the Chuseok holidays and had to scramble to come up with the items and discount rates. While the event is well intentioned, it could have been more thoroughly planned for maximum impact.
