HELSINKI, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- This year's Black Friday sales in Finland were higher than last year, if only modestly, the OP Financial Group's Corporate Bank said on Tuesday citing consumer transaction data.
The volume of online purchases and point of sales (POS) transactions on Black Friday increased by 3.4 percent in euro terms year-on-year, the bank said in a press release published on Tuesday.
Masa Peura, OP's director in charge of everyday financial services, attributed this year's moderate increase to the rise in consumer prices.
"Last week's numbers bode well for Christmas shopping at the end of the year," he was quoted as saying in the release. "On the other hand, rising consumer prices can already be seen concretely in the finances of many families."
During Black Friday week, electronic and telecommunications equipment as well as clothing tend to be the hottest items. About half of the purchases are made online, the financial group noted.
According to another study carried out by online financial services provider Klarna's Finland branch, Finns bought 4 percent more during this year's Black Friday than in 2021. During the very first hour of Black Friday, sales surged by 1,375 percent compared to the same time on a normal shopping day.
Black Friday arrived in Finland in 2014, and its importance in offline and online retailing has grown significantly ever since.
The OP Financial Group, made up of 180 cooperative banks and their central organization, is the largest financial group in Finland. It has over two million owner-customers. The group offers retail and commercial banking services as well as insurance services across the country.
