The traditional pre-Christmas shopping season is no longer the peak period for Hamburg-based retail giant, the Otto Group. According to Petra Scharner-Wolff, Chairwoman of the Executive Board, the “Black Friday” event has now eclipsed Christmas as the most significant sales period for the company.
The American import, consistently held on the fourth Thursday of November, has become the “ultimate peak” in online retail. Scharner-Wolff stated that the two-week period surrounding Black Friday has superseded Christmas as the most important time for consumers to make purchases.
The shift reflects the increasing importance of discount promotions in the retail landscape. To maintain profitability amidst widespread offers, the Otto Group utilizes dynamic pricing strategies across its platforms, including Otto, Bonprix, Witt, Frankonia and Baur. This approach means products like smartphones, sweaters and washing machines adjust prices on an hourly, or even minute-by-minute, basis. Scharner-Wolff emphasized that a reliance solely on discounts is unsustainable for long-term business success.
