Progress report! Almost a week after the official launch of Black Friday, it is already possible to draw up an initial assessment and to know the purchasing trends of the French for their personal equipment, but also for the gifts they intend to offer this year at Christmas.
To take the market temperature, go to FNAC/Darty. With nearly 800 stores spread across France, the distributor stood out to us as the ideal barometer to gauge consumers' tech appetite at the end of the year. Laurent Darrieutort, electronics and white goods director at FNAC/Darty answered questions from 20 Minutes.
“We had not anticipated such an increase in activity”!
We might be surprised, but no. After a year 2023 driven by one million sales of air fryers in France, the main category of Black Friday 2024 is… small household appliances! “This sector has seen its generated value increase by 8% since the start of the year, but with Black Friday, we can speak of an increase of 25%,” testifies Laurent Darrieutort. “Our warehouses are saturated, we had not anticipated such an increase in activity, it’s crazy! », adds the electronics and white products director at FNAC/Darty. Result, according to him: “Black Friday 2024 is already “a very good vintage”! “In our economic context, people are careful about prices and look for good deals.” So, what exactly do people buy?
Air fryers, but we kind of suspected that!
Star of sales of small household appliances in 2023, the oil-free fryer (or air fryer), will not give up its title in 2024. Where sales were predicted to double this year, FNAC/Darty evokes growth multiplied by three or four!
“The air fryer is a device that is becoming known, with fairly low sales prices, even on double tray models which can be found at 149 euros. It remains a reasonable pleasure purchase,” comments Laurent Darrieutort.
How to choose the right air fryer?
Vacuum cleaners, because we're too lazy to clean…
…and above all because stick vacuums and robot vacuums have never been so attractive! The first, which run on battery, allow you to keep your house clean without the hassle of using a canister vacuum cleaner, which is a bit difficult to use. The latter tend towards autonomy in vacuuming, but also in washing.
“Soil treatment is madness,” again notes Laurent Darrieutort of Darty. Interesting: the French are ready to spend a lot of money on their purchase. “We did an operation with Dyson and its V15 at 499 euros which we sold 3,000 pieces in one day,” our interlocutor is almost surprised. Who also notes that the best sales on robot vacuum cleaners concern products priced at 1,100 euros after discount…
How much to invest for a good robot vacuum cleaner?
Coffee makers with a grinder, because we are very coffee-colored!
The market for these coffee makers which allow you to prepare real little blacks, like in the bistro next door, had exploded during Covid. After a slight drop in speed, it seems to be regaining vigor, with, according to our Darty expert, a star brand, Delonghi, a real key player in the market.
Which coffee maker with grinder should you get?
Faced with our craze for small household appliances, what remains at the end of the year for classic electronic products, once we have invested in an air fryer, a vacuum cleaner and a coffee maker. Crumbs? Not necessarily. Through the best sales of the moment at FNAC/Darty, it is also a real evolution of uses which seems to be taking place with the massive and unexpected sales of certain devices.
OLED televisions, finally, and we didn't see it coming!
A 55-inch LG OLED TV at -20% (i.e. 1,590 euros, instead of 1,990 euros)? FNAC/Darty customers clearly did not want to pass up this offer…. even if in France, the average price of a television is “only” 450 euros. “People are currently flocking to OLED and taking advantage of promotions on high-end products,” notes Laurent Darrieutort.
To give us an idea of this craze, the electronics and white product director talks about this recent day when he saw “twenty-five LG semi-trailers passing by to deliver the manufacturer's OLED G4 to our warehouses”! Crazy. Another observation: the French love very large screen sizes with, as the queen size for televisions this year,… 75 inches (i.e. 1.90 meters diagonal)!
Video projectors, which 20 Minutes has been talking to you about for a while
Confirmation of what we had sensed: video projectors are a hit. “We are seeing a very strong enthusiasm around these devices and many brands pushing the technology with products that are very easy to install,” explains Laurent Darrieutort. Which puts the market growth for these devices at +20% this year, “but Black Friday is well above that! “. A star product on the shelves: the MoGo 3 Pro from Xgimi.
Headphones, because headphones aren’t everything…
Although they had not necessarily been shunned by consumers, head-band headphones had nevertheless lost their visibility with the tidal wave of True Wireless headphones. At the end of 2024, their sales are benefiting from an improvement.
“In terms of experience, the quality is still higher than that of headphones and consumers are more likely to equip themselves at the high end, buying headphones sold between 200 and 400 euros,” specifies the electronics and white goods director FNAC/ Darty.
Although this does not prevent the headphones from selling well. Among the many offers, AirPods 4 with noise reduction (199 euros) remain the undisputed bestseller.
Among the products of the moment, connected watches, speakers high-power (to party) are also popular. Smartphones less than before: “the figures are not very good”, notes Laurent Darrieutort. And for good reason, the French now wait 3 and a half years to renew their terminal, compared to 12 months a few years ago.
Related News :