eMAG, the biggest online retailer in Romania, has decided to hold this year's Black Friday shopping event on November 18, one week before the official Black Friday in the US.

eMAG was the first retailer to hold a Black Friday shopping event in Romania, in 2011. Many other local retailers, especially those specialized in e-commerce, have joined this event. The sales retailer register on Black Friday are higher than on any other day of the year.

Tudor Manea, eMAG Romania's general manager, says this will be “the biggest Black Friday so far.”

“This year we have exceeded 1 million products available on eMAG, almost double compared to last year’s Black Friday. Hundreds of thousands of products from various categories will be included in our offer for this year’s Black Friday,” he added.

Over 2,000 shops listed on eMAG’s Marketplace will also participate in the event, more than double compared to 2015. Those who love discounts will be able to choose from a wide range of products, from TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, to washing machines, baby products, footwear and clothing, cosmetics, and even furniture.

Several other online and offline retailers in Romania will offer important discounts on November 18, for Black Friday. According to data posted on Blackfridayromania.net, the list includes fashion retailers Fashion Days, Mycloset.ro, Zoot, and PPT, cosmetics retailers such as Avon and Cuio.ro, and IT&C retailers such as Cel.ro, Elefant.ro, Evomag, Clickshop, and ITGalaxy.

Other big IT&C retailers such as Flanco and Altex will also have Black Friday sales in November. In recent years, hypermarket chains such as Carrefour also had Black Friday sales.

Last year, Black Friday took place on November 20. The shopping event brought sales of EUR 45.4 million to eMAG, and EUR 26.1 million to IT&C retailer Flanco.

Card payments in Romania, double compared to last Black Friday

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com