“Brazilian Black Friday” with Discounts up to 70 Percent Kicks Off on Thursday

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Communication Secretary of the federal government (SECOM) and the Institute for Retail Development (IDV) will launch next Thursday, September 3rd, the second edition of “Semana Brasil“, which will include thousands of stores with discounts of up to 70 percent, in an attempt to boost trade, particularly e-commerce.

Last year, around three thousand stores joined the “Black Friday verde e amarela” (green and yellow Black Friday). This year, with the pandemic, the e-commerce presence is expected to be even more noticeable. Magazine Luiza will offer products with up to 70 percent discount and free shipping. Extra will offer 40 percent discounts using the BRASIL coupon.

“We are mobilizing the whole retail market to seek the best ways to enable promotional initiatives. This is a fully multiparty initiative, which will benefit the country’s economy as a whole,” said IDV advisor Marcos Gouvêa de Souza.

According to Ebit/Nielsen, e-commerce sales growth during last year’s “Semana Brasil” reached 41 percent, while physical retail sales increased 11.3 percent.

Despite closed stores or reduced opening hours, sales in 2020 are expected to increase between ten and fifteen percent. “We will accomplish all this while observing health safety norms, with entrepreneurs and consumers aware of the importance of maintaining and promoting trade relations, as well as caring for other people’s health,” said Fabio Wajngarten, executive secretary of the Ministry of Communications.

The “Semana Brasil” second edition will take place after the highest blow to the Brazilian economy in recent years. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped 9.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the immediately preceding period, IBGE reported on September 1st. The financial market’s median projection was for a slightly lower drop of 9.4 percent.

Now, GDP stands at the same level as in late 2009, the peak of the impacts of the 2008 global financial crisis. The highest drop recorded was in household consumption, which represents 56 percent of GDP, and fell by 12.5 percent in the second quarter compared to the first.

Source: Exame