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Most international e-commerce platforms have begun their Black Friday sales—an annual shopping event that takes place the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. and signals the start of the holiday shopping season. However, many Chinese merchants are expected to see narrower profit margins this year because the discounts are “too deep,” according to several sellers.
Many stores are concerned they won’t meet their sales goals for this year’s Black Friday, which falls on November 28. U.S.-based e-commerce giant Amazon started its Black Friday promotions on November 20, continuing through the 28th. Meanwhile, Chinese counterparts such as TikTok Shop, AliExpress, and Temu have all launched their own promotional deals.
This year’s Black Friday sales window is longer than in previous years, said Zhang Zhouping, executive director of Bense Think Tank. He also noted that content-focused platforms like TikTok Shop have increased their investments in promotional activities.
Amazon’s new price transparency policy, which allows shoppers to view the price history of products, aims to help consumers find lower prices. However, this policy has impacted some merchants—particularly one clothing store from Xiamen, China. An owner explained that the policy has made it difficult to participate in promotional events because they are required to lower their prices, which cuts into profit margins. To comply with Amazon’s policy, merchants are now restricted to offering discounts no greater than what their prices were in the past three months, making it challenging to participate in the event. While the policy provides consumers with clearer pricing information, it puts additional pressure on store profits.
On the other hand, a battery seller from Guangdong, who operates shops on Amazon, Temu, and TikTok Shop, said the policy has had minimal impact on his sales because his customers prioritize product quality. With steady demand for rechargeable batteries in Europe and North America, and the introduction of new products plus a 5% discount compared to last year, he set a Black Friday sales target of 50 million RMB (roughly $7 million). Last year, his sales only reached around 20 million RMB. However, weak sales during the first day have raised concerns about reaching that goal—if sales continue at this pace, he estimates they may only achieve about two-thirds of the target.
The merchant attributes potential underperformance to the broader economic environment. “Consumer spending power in Europe and the U.S. is weakening,” he said. He plans to monitor the Chinese e-commerce market more closely and may consider opening a storefront on domestic platforms at a suitable time.
A survey conducted by a U.S. lending platform found that nearly 70% of consumers say inflation will influence their Black Friday spending plans this year. About 39% expect to cut back on shopping, while only 29% plan to spend more. Additionally, 47% of Generation Z shoppers plan to spend less during Black Friday due to inflation.
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