Exclusive: Shopify boss banks on big Black Friday as ‘last cheat meal’ before 2023 hiatus
Shopify’s European chief says that despite the cost of living crisis, Brits are still planning to spend big this Black Friday, calling it the “last cheat meal before you start a really big diet”.
In new data released today, the commerce firm revealed that although inflation was hitting hard, where 78 per cent of people have reduced their disposable spending this Christmas, nearly half of Brits surveyed said they planned to do the majority of their holiday shopping during Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM).
The same amount said that they intend to spend the same or more than previous years, and many have saved up to do so.
Shopify’s platform allows brands and retailers to sell directly through their own websites or social media, dodging trade on Amazon and other large online marketplaces.
EMEA Managing Director Shimona Mehta, who has been with the firm for six years, explained that consumers are still looking for a good bargain – something that even a period of recession can’t stifle.
“They [shoppers] are looking right now to spend on really great, high quality and durable goods, as they look towards needing to scale back on spending next year as we get into a tougher economic time,” she told City PM
“So the store has kind of been seeing it as that last cheat meal before you start a really big diet.”
With this in mind, Mehta added that entrepreneurs and businesses were therefore shifting away from a “stack them high, sell them cheap” mind-set, opting for quality over quantity.
She said clothing was the number-one category that consumers were banking to spend their bucks on, with a distinct on “quality over quantity” approach.
Again the tech firm’s data found that two thirds of UK consumers are looking to spend money on higher quality products that will last a long time.
Although Shopify has undoubtedly benefited from the commerce explosion, which kept many smaller businesses afloat during the pandemic, the US firm has undoubtedly been a victim of the wider tech tumble.
Although shares were momentarily lifted after Shopify beat analysts’ estimates for the third quarter, the stock is down over 66 per cent in the year to date.
The firm had been profitable for five years through to 2021, but has struggled to rally momentum.
On this, the Canadian-born business titan said “periods of market turbulence are just part of life as a public company” – an excuse that is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.