4天614億,美國黑五的戰績可比中國差遠了

Shoppers will spend nearly ￡8billion this weekend as stores slash prices for Black Friday.

黑五來襲，商家促銷，預計週末消費額將達80億歐元。

Discounts on some products are expected to be so big that sellers will actually make a loss.

部分商品如果折扣太大，商家可能會虧損。

Retailers are using bargains to lure shoppers through the door – as they struggle to reverse a drop in sales fuelled by a squeeze on household budgets.

商家利用優惠吸引消費者，同時也要努力抵抗降價帶來的損失。

Price cuts of 40 to 50 per cent are being promoted on many clothes and electricals, with the biggest deals seeing around two-thirds knocked off the cost.

不少服裝和電器都因爲促銷降價40%到50%，某單成交時售價僅爲原價三分之一，折扣最低。

A record number of stores are running promotions as they fear losing business to rivals or online giant Amazon.

衆多商家搞促銷活動因爲害怕競對商家，也怕被電商巨頭亞馬遜搶走生意。

Even Next has felt the pressure, and for the first time has brought forward its Boxing Day sale to start at 3am today. It has previously refused to hold sales in the run-up to Christmas.

就連軟件公司Next都倍感壓力，第一次將節禮日（Boxing Day，12月26日）促銷提前到今天凌晨三點，以前Next在聖誕節前從未降過價。

Spending across the board is expected to be up 7 per cent on last year to reach ￡7.8billion over four days from today, according to the Centre for Retail Research and Voucher Codes website.

零售研究和憑證代碼中心（Centre for Retail Research and Voucher Codes）網站說，海外購從今天算起，預計四天的銷售額將達78億歐元，相比去年上漲7%。

The warm autumn means fashion sellers are looking to offload masses of unsold coats, boots and woollens.

而這樣的促銷勢頭意味着服裝賣家要將大量未售出的外套、靴子、毛衣等下架。

Meanwhile industry data has shown a slump in sales of furniture and household electricals from washing machines to TVs. These products will have particularly big reductions.

同時，銷售業數據顯示，傢俱、洗衣機和電視等日用電器的售價也大幅下降，這意味着利潤也會下跌。

However some analysts warn that the price cuts could amount to disastrous self-harm. Apart from potentially selling items at a loss, there are huge costs involved in delivering items bought online and handling returns.

專家表示，降價相當於自毀前程。除了利潤虧損，線上貨物運輸和退貨問題也將帶來巨大損失。

James Brown, from pricing experts Simon-Kucher, warned: 'Black Friday is now a real experience and shoppers love finding a bargain.

定價諮詢公司西蒙顧和（Simon-Kucher）的傑姆斯·布朗（James Brown）說：“黑五現在已經成爲實實在在的購物節了，消費者都喜歡講價。”

'But for some businesses they will slash prices so much that they accidentally turn it into their most disastrous day of the year.

“但是對很多公司來說，價格越低，意味着這一天他們的損失越慘重。”

'We've reviewed thousands of promotions by hundreds of businesses, and we're confident that many will make dramatically less than they will even make a loss.'

“我們看過無數商家的各種促銷活動，這樣的行爲不但無法獲得預期收益，有些商家甚至會賠得更多。”

Retail analyst Richard Hyman described Black Friday as 'crazy' in terms of damaging profits.

零售業分析師理查德·海曼（Richard Hyman）說，黑五對利潤的打擊簡直是“毀滅性的”。

'Much of the trade would love to opt out but in this weakest of all retail markets, few have succeeded,' he said. 'With demand thin, Black Friday will essentially suck Christmas sales forward. For Amazon it's a stick with which to beat the industry.'

“很多商家都想退出黑五促銷，但是零售業現在都不景氣，沒人能成功脫身。需求這麼少，只有黑五能從本質上拉動需求。對亞馬遜來說，黑五是促進零售業的大好時機。”

There was evidence of the issues facing stores as it emerged yesterday that two chains – furniture store Multiyork and shoe firm Shoon – are in trouble. Multiyork, which has 50 shops, has gone into administration. Shoon, with six shops, is also set to call in administrators – though it may be sold.

昨天，零售業的問題顯現出來——傢俱品牌Multiyork 和鞋品牌Shoon都陷入了困境。Multiyork有50家分店，已經全部開始破產保護，Shoon的6家分店即將開啓破產保護，也可能會被轉手。

Some estimates suggest the Black Friday weekend will hoover up 40 per cent of all spending on Christmas. Amazon was at the forefront of bringing the American sale event to the UK in 2010. In the US, Black Friday comes on the day after Thanksgiving.

有人預計黑五過後的週末購物將搶佔聖誕節銷售收入的40%。美國的黑五在感恩節後的第二天，2010年，亞馬遜首次將黑五的概念帶到英國。

Research by PricewaterhousCoopers suggests half of adults will buy something in the sales – with the average spend ￡200. Lisa Hooker, from PwC, said: 'Retailers can't afford not to have a Black Friday promotion.'

互聯網公司PricewaterhousCoopers做了調查，表示一般的消費者會在黑五購物，平均花費200歐元。麗薩·胡克（Lisa Hooker）說：“沒有商家敢在黑五當天不打折。”