The budget set aside by Romanians who intend to buy on Black Friday 2024 is 3,116 RON, up 231 RON from last year, with TVs, small appliances, clothes, mobile phones and washing machines being the top favorites, informs an expert study sent on Monday by Kantar Romania, the world's leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world's top companies, including 96 of the world's 100 biggest advertisers.Black Friday remains one of the most popular events in Romania. 93% of Romanians are familiar with this shopping event, and of these about 60% have planned purchases on this occasion, shows the study carried out on a nationally representative sample of adults in rural and urban areas.Black Friday shopping budgets also continue to grow. In particular, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of those who plan to spend more than 3,000 RON. If in 2022 the percentage of buyers with budgets above this threshold was 21%, in 2024 it rose to 30%.The study also shows that TV sets (36%), small appliances (36%), clothes (26%), mobile phones (26%) and washing machines (19%) lead the top of favorite product categories planned for Black Friday purchases. Preferences vary by age, however: compared to the general level, 18 to 24-year-olds are most likely to buy clothes (40%) and mobile phones (40%) or laptops (17%).For the 25-34 age group, there is a higher than average interest in clothes (34%) and cosmetics (15%). 35 to 44-year-olds are more interested in large appliances, while the 45-55 age group is more interested in TVs (42%) and cookers (13%). The 56-65 year-old age group are more interested than other categories in home & deco (16%), but also food and drinks (14%)."Black Friday continues to be a huge phenomenon in Romania, 9 out of 10 people aged between 18 and 55 are familiar with this event and more than half want to buy something. This underlines the importance of the event for the economy and for the e-commerce sector, which benefits from this peak sales period. Our survey shows that TVs and small appliances are the top Black Friday favorites, followed by mobile phones and clothes. These categories of products are essential for Romanian consumers, who are looking to improve their standard of living (comfort and increased functionality for their homes, entertainment and connection with others through new technologies) and the way they express themselves, present themselves to the world. Black Friday is a unique opportunity for companies to significantly increase their sales and brand exposure. But they need to be prepared to effectively manage the increased demand during this period (with all the operational challenges) and focus on creating experiences that are meaningfully different for shoppers, so that they develop positive associations with the brand," said Gabriela Georgescu, Senior Client Service, Kantar Romania, quoted in the press release.The interest in cosmetics has seen the highest growth in recent years, especially among women and segments aged 25-34 and 45-55 and people in rural areas, where access to physical stores with such products is lower.The study was conducted from October 14 to October 21, 2024, on a nationally representative sample of 2001 respondents aged 18 to 65 years, interviews were conducted using the CATI method, with a maximum permissible margin of error of 2.2% at a 95% confidence level.