Economie
situation (AP) The Dutch have done a lot of shopping in Sinterklaas before December 5, and may want to take advantage of the offers on Black Friday. Although last Saturday was the busiest day at checkout last week, the number of payment card payments was not as great as Saturday after the shopping spree.
Last Saturday, with two days left until December 5, shoppers in Dutch stores paid 20.3 million times with a debit or credit card for a total amount of just over 577 million euros. A week ago, there were 21.4 million payments worth 635 million euros. At the time, many retailers were still offering discounts in connection with Black Friday, which fell the day before.
According to the Dutch Payments Association, which published card payments figures, many shoppers also chose last week not to wait until the last minute to make purchases. For example, there were 15 percent more payments with debit and credit cards at the counter on a Thursday than on a normal Thursday. The difference between Saturday, December 3, and a regular Saturday was much less, at 5 percent.
It is difficult to gauge whether the Dutch national team game this weekend has an impact on buying behaviour. The Dutch Payments Association does not track with hourly pay figures but states it was busiest at the 2.15pm checkout. The Netherlands vs USA match started at 4:00pm.
Online, the recent Black Friday (November 25) remains the busiest day of the year in terms of payments. Web shop Bol.com reports that customers aren’t very cautious about their online purchases, even though inflation is high and gas and electricity are becoming considerably more expensive. However, Christmas lights sales are slowing compared to last year.
