Attention, Shoppers: It’s Mexican ‘Black Friday’ Weekend
MEXICO CITY.— Black Friday is a very well-known date for American shoppers. But a week before, Mexico celebrates its own version of it.
Since last Friday, thousands of Mexican shoppers have been packing stores and malls.
It’s El Buen Fin, Spanish for "The Good Weekend," an event inspired in the American Black Friday, where stores from all over Mexico offer discounts and special payment plans.
But not only physical and online stores participate in this commercial weekend. There’s all kinds of services: restaurants, bars and even businesses such as spas, airlines and pet hospitals offer promotions, as well.
El Buen Fin started in 2011, when the Government and the private sector decided to give a push together to domestic sales and commerce.
Since then, the number of affiliated businesses keeps growing, as well as the cities that participate in El Buen Fin.
And despite the complaints from some shoppers, who consider that the event is a marketing-driven activity with no real benefits for consumers, sales during El Buen Fin have been growing since its creation.
Last year, sales during El Buen Fin from affiliated businesses grew more than 10 per cent compared to 2014, according to the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, the Mexican leading business organization.
However, the Mexican Business Council has low expectations this year. The price of the dollar has been rising, as well as the economic uncertainty, after the US elections, which has made some consumers and businesses nervous and more careful with their spendings.
