CHINA. Friday, 26 November was Black Friday, a global shopping extravaganza whose roots trace back to 1950. The name was coined to describe the chaos that ensued in the US city of Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of an annual football match.
Today Black Friday has much more positive vibes, being synonymous with a discount-driven, bargain bonanza retail festival in many countries worldwide.
Chinese travel retailers have embraced the term with a particular fervour in recent years. Here our special correspondent in China looks at some of the promotions on offer this Black Friday.
Thanksgiving Promotions & Black Friday Bonanza
Chinese duty free retailers this year are boasting hassle-free, highly competitive Black Friday sales (running until 30 November) as they seek to maximise online and offline customer engagement. In addition to a range of super deals, retailers have been issuing cash vouchers and coupons to encourage purchase. For Chinese customers, shopping so conveniently without worrying about cross-border shipping, customs clearance, and time lags with the other side of the globe has become a new trend.
CNSC
A Black Friday promotion over the weekend included extra discounts & loyalty points, coupons, and CNY20 (US$3.13) off per trip leaving from/arriving at CNSC Duty Free Plaza using the T3 ride hailing app.
New members can register and earn a CNY50 (US$7.80) cash coupon and 1 loyalty point per CNY30 (US$4.70) spend. Loyalty points can be converted to cash coupons for future shopping. Extra discounts and loyalty points (up to 5x) apply to a wide variety of products, including Lancôme Absolue eye cream, lip balm from La Mer, Advanced Night Repair skincare set from Estée Lauder.
CNSC also offers an array of super deals on select skincare and accessories in Sanya at a very competitive price. Offers include the Shiseido Ultimune Serum (2x100ml) at CNY1,217 (US$190.60) vs. a regular duty free retail price at CNY2,029/US$318); Anessa sunscreen at CNY93/US$14.60 (vs. CNY155); Jo Malone Wide Bluebell Cologne at CNY306/US$48 (vs. CNY475), and Lazy Sunday Morning EDT by Maison Margiela at CNY559/US$87.60 (vs. CNY842).
Customers can also enjoy up to -40% off on Coach and buy 2 get -50% off on Tom Ford sunglasses.
HTDF
HTDF began a very straightforward Black Friday deal this weekend. Apart from the ongoing debit/credit card/Alipay promotion + extra loyalty points, it offers buy 3 get -30% off on most cosmetics & perfume products. On top of that, all customers visiting the offline store can get a coupon package worth of CNY3,000 (US$478).
In addition to the promotion through its online portal and offline store, HTDF also partnered with JD.com over the weekend to offer a buy 3 get -33% off, CNY100 (US$15.66) off CNY2600 (US$407) spend, and extra loyalty points for customers who purchase via the HTDF store on the JD.com platform. Customers can apply all 3 offers at the same time to create perhaps one of the best bargains of the year. For example, Helena Rubinstein Powercell eye care from HTDF on JD.com is -36.5% off the regular duty free retail price.
GDF Plaza
GDF Plaza is offering exclusive promotions to fans who attended the Mars concert of Hua Chenyu, one of the top performers in China, in Haikou, Hainan this weekend.
GDF has four exclusive deals, including discounts on Estée Lauder’s Nutritious collection, CNY180 (US$28.20) benefit vouchers, beauty product sets at exclusive promotional price, and a free gift for total spend exceeding CNY3,500 (US$548). Consumers need to provide concert tickets or e-receipts to redeem these offers.
The retailer also features a special cocktail menu this weekend on WeChat offering -30% off on select liquor brands including Chivas Regal, Bacardi 8 Year Old Reserva, and Johnnie Walker Black Label. Other super-weekend deals included moisturising soft cream from La Mer, Gucci Bloom perfume, SK-II Genoptics Aura Essence, and Perfectionist Pro serum from Estée Lauder.
Times DF Mission Hills
Times DF is also offering an exclusive promotions to attendees at the Hua Chenyu concert (see picture below).
Deals include CNY50 (US$7.80) off CNY 200+ (US$31.30+) spend on perfume & beauty products online, CNY50 cash voucher applicable to all perfume & beauty products offline, and CNY100 (US$15.60) cash voucher for all fashion products offline.
Customers with Bank of China credit cards can enjoy CNY238 (US$37.30) off CNY3000 (US$470) spend via the BOC mobile app or UnionPay Yunshanfu app. Customers with UnionPay credit cards (card numbers starting with 62) can also enjoy CNY100 off any CNY1000 (US$157) spend via the Yunshanfu app.
Besides the usual buy 1 get -20% off & buy 3 get -30% off on beauty and perfume, and buy 1 get -20% off & buy 3 get -25% off on fashion, Times DF Mission Hills is also running flash sales this weekend at up to -60% off on various products, and -20-50% off on liquor. Customers with Alipay can also register for a ‘shopping for free’ lucky draw and extra cash vouchers on perfume & beauty (CNY50), fashion (CNY100), and liquor (CNY50).
China Duty Free Group (CDFG)
Highlights of Black Friday sale this year by CDFG include attractive promotions at Duty Zero by CDF and CDF Member Shop mini-program. A one-stop liquor shopping at Duty Zero offers exactly plenty of shopping incentive for the year-end festive season. In addition to offering a HKD100 (US$12.80) cash voucher for spend over HKD800 (US$103) on November 25-30, Duty Zero is also offering 4x loyalty points for all CDF members shopping at both online and offline channels, as well as a -35% off incentive for a HKD4,400 (US$564) spend on selected liquor, including wine, Champagne, sake, and icewine.
Vouchers are also offered via the CDF Member Shop mini-program, including CNY60 (US$7.70) off a CNY1200 (US$154) spend; CNY150 (US$19.20) off CNY 1600 (US$205); CNY300 (US$38.50) off CNY2600 (US$333); CNY450 (US$57.70) off CNY3600 (US$462); and CNY600 (US$77) off CNY4,600 (US$590) spend.
The vouchers could be applied to most of the items in the mini-program and even on top of the discount retail price. Special sale items on the mini-program include moisturising cream from La Mer, cleansing foam from Clé de Peau Beauté, and an Estée Lauder skincare set.
Sunrise Duty Free
Sunrise Duty Free also joins the Black Friday spirit, offering coupons and special promotions on skincare, makeup, perfume, accessories and fashion for various brands, including Clé de Peau Beauté, Estée Lauder, La Mer, Shiseido, Helena Rubinstein, Nars, Jo Malone, Tom Ford, Bvlgari, Swarovski, Dr. Arrivo, Bose, Bally, and Hugo Boss.
Shopping vouchers and coupons are also randomly sent out to lucky customers, and can be used in the Sunrise Duty Free app or CDF Sunrise app & mini-program.
DFS
Black Friday promotion at DFS this weekend mainly focuses on bestselling skincare & cosmetics products. The most loved bestsellers of this season are the concentrate serum from La Mer, Sisley’s programme découverte discovery program set, the Radical Dark Spot Corrector + Interrupter from Clinic, Fresh black tea mask set, and a Tom Ford eyeshadow palette.
