Dacia has announced some unusual plans for its new pop-up store in the huge Westfield Stratford shopping centre. The shop will open today, Thursday the 23rd of November or, as many retailers now know it, the day before 'Black Friday' and all of its discounts and retail bargains.
The unusual thing about the Dacia shop, though, is that it will be closed on Black Friday. Why? Well, it's a publicity stunt of course, but Dacia is making the point that it, as a brand, offers good value and discount-level prices all year round, not just on one day of the year.
Black Friday is an American import, and across the pond it's the day after Thanksgiving. What better way to tempt turkey-stuffed consumers out of their houses, and get the Christmas rush started, than with a bevy of bargains? We've imported Black Friday to the UK via American multi-nationals, but, according to Dacia, two thirds of us actually don't care much for it.
The survey carried out by Dacia, which interviewed 2,000 British consumers, found that 67 per cent think that the whole day is just a 'marketing gimmick' and 62 per cent won't take advantage of the day to buy any Christmas presents.
Conversely, 75 per cent of Brits believe a brand that offers lots of deals can win their loyalty, but 73 per cent are suspicious of companies that offer consistent sales and savings. Why? We're not sure either. Mind you, 74 per cent of us are sceptical about such offers. This sentiment is aided by two-in-five Brits feeling they have been 'burned' by a supposed bargain.
Louise O'Sullivan, Head of Dacia UK, said: "With Black Friday upon us once again, many will be rushing to find a bargain. But for the majority of us who won't be it is intriguing to see that despite our love of deals and self-identification as savvy shoppers, constant deals or offers that seem too good to be true actually make us wary. It's interesting to see that the British public just want good value, and that they will repay this with loyalty, rather than supposedly good one-off discounts.
"At Dacia, we offer great deals every day as part of our continued focus on value, which we believe customers should receive as standard and not just on one day a year. We hope that closing our Westfield Stratford pop-up on the day synonymous with bargains will show UK shoppers that, at Dacia, Black Friday is just another day - exceptional value should be for life."
Neil Briscoe - 23 Nov 2017