<Anchor> This is a



friendly economic time. Today (29th), I will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. The 26th was Black Friday in America. Did reporter Kim buy the things he wanted at a low price that day?



<Reporter>



Originally, I was the type of person to wait and buy a lot of things during the blackout period, but this year, there were no items that particularly caught my eye.



<Anchor>



Right? Like reporter Kim, this year's Black Friday is not like usual. I hear this voice



<Reporter>



That's right. When you think of the original Black Friday scene, you think of people lining up in front of American stores. We've seen this queue in recent years as America's vaccination rates rise and consumer sentiment picks up.



But the inside of the store was empty. Also, there weren't many real buyers. There was a reason, let's hear it for yourself.



[Christian McDonald/Customer: I came here thinking that 'Nintendo Switch OLED' would be in stock because it was Black Friday, but there is none. I just want to go home.] As



this customer said, the stock itself was low and the discount range was small, so there were few people who wanted to buy it.



<Anchor>



Reporter Kim, then why are you running out of stock this year?



<Reporter>



There are fewer workers in US ports. So there was no one to work with. Therefore, there was a logistical problem. I gave this explanation once, so American distribution companies were not able to secure enough inventory.



As in the past, it is no longer possible to hold a special discount event to coincide with the Black Friday period. So, companies have modified their strategy to do marketing that pushes out products from time to time once inventory is secured.



For this reason, there were many cases where the sale started earlier than planned, and there was even a word called 'bluff advance deal'.



In addition, American consumers found that the products they wanted were quickly running out of stock, so they placed their orders earlier than usual, even if the sale was a little less.



According to statistics from a market research firm, 59% of US consumers shopped earlier than last year. I got this answer.



<Anchor>



So, are Black Friday sales actually a bit lower than usual?



<Reporter>



That's right. Consumers have bought what they need in advance of the bluff. During the black season, there were many consumers who could not buy goods due to logistics difficulties, so sales actually fell during this period.



Originally, in the United States, online sales were increasing every year during Black Friday. Even last year, when many countries around the world were locked down due to COVID-19, online sales soared.



However, this graph went upside down for the first time this year. An online distribution analytics company published statistics, which stopped at $8.9 billion, a slight decrease from last year's $9 billion.



Korean consumers have also concentrated on direct purchases or purchases from the United States during the blackout period. However, the majority of responses this time were that the product could not be purchased very cheaply.



<Anchor>



Reporter Kim It's a bit disappointing to hear the explanation today. At the end of the year, I think it was nice to have the opportunity to buy things that I needed at a slightly cheaper price, but now the opportunity to buy things so cheaply is gone? Another chance?



<Reporter> To



start with, the stock is a bit low, but the discount range will be a little bigger in the future. Black Friday is over in the US. Cyber ​​Monday remains.



Today is the first Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. Since Cyber ​​Monday is an online-centric event, sales have been high recently.



So, it is said that retailers are risking their lives to make the final sales. Of course, the stock will be limited this time too, but the discount is higher as the discount period is short.



If there is something you want to buy, it is better not to delay and buy it quickly. If the seller does not send the goods and does not refund due to problems such as shortage of stock, it can be difficult for those who buy goods in Korea.



There is a 'chargeback' service from credit card companies.

This is a service that allows you to request cancellation of a transaction that has already been approved by your credit card company if a consumer suffers damage in an international transaction.



Transaction history and payment history are required, so it is much more advantageous to keep the relevant data without throwing it away when making direct purchases in case of unforeseen circumstances.