This year most of the Sinterklaas shopping was done a week before December 5th – de Puttenare

Tuesday 6 December, 08:00
economy

putting (AP) The Dutch have done most of their Sinterklaas shopping before Dec. 5, perhaps looking to take advantage of Black Friday deals. Although last Saturday was the busiest day at checkout last week, the number of people paying with payment cards was not nearly as large as on Saturday after the shopping spree.

In the two days until last Saturday, December 5, shoppers in Dutch stores made 20.3 million payments by debit or credit card totaling more than 577 million euros. A week ago, 21.4 million were paid for 635 million euros. At the time, many retailers were showing discounts in connection with Black Friday, which fell a day earlier.

According to the Dutch Payments Association, which published statistics on card payments, last week many shoppers chose not to wait until the last moment to make purchases. For example, over-the-counter payments on Thursdays with debit and credit cards were 15 percent higher than normal Thursdays. The difference between Saturday, December 3 and a normal Saturday was as little as 5 percent.

Whether this weekend’s Dutch national team match had an impact on buying behavior is difficult to gauge. The Dutch Payments Association does not track payment figures by the hour, but reports that checkouts at 2.15pm were busiest. The Dutch game against the USA started at 4pm.

Online, last Black Friday (November 25) is the busiest day of the year for payments. Although inflation is high and gas and electricity are significantly more expensive, consumers are still not cautious about their online purchases, according to Web store Bol.com. However, sales of Christmas lights are down from last year.