Newsroom
By Adriana Panteli
Cyprus has officially entered Black Friday week, and retailers are hoping for one of the strongest shopping weekends in years, as long as shoppers believe the deals are real.
According to Mall of Nicosia CEO Giorgos Georgiou, last year was a turning point. “For the first time in years, discounts, especially in clothing and shoes, were real and honest on new stock,” he said. That honesty, he added, is what finally won back shoppers who felt tricked in the past by shops trying to offload old inventory.
Retailers are already seeing strong momentum. Sales last weekend were “very encouraging,” Georgiou said, and expectations are high for this Friday.
Marios Antoniou, Secretary-General of the Cyprus Retail Association, said this year’s timing helps. Black Friday falls just as most salaried workers get paid, giving the retail sector a much-needed push. But he also reminded shoppers that Cyprus is a small market, meaning it simply can’t offer the deep price cuts seen in Europe or the U.S.
Black Friday in Cyprus, he said, has had its ups and downs. After an initial burst of enthusiasm, shoppers grew skeptical when discounts were used to clear out old stock. Since the pandemic, though, retailers have shifted back to genuine markdowns, and the public has noticed.
The Consumers Association also issued a long list of reminders for shoppers: check prices beforehand, avoid sketchy online shops, read return policies carefully, and don’t be fooled by vague labels like “special price” or “offer” that don’t show the actual discount.
Retailers say the day is an early indicator of how December spending will go. In the U.S., where Black Friday was born, it marks the official kickoff to holiday shopping. Cyprus may not match the mega-sales of bigger markets, but retailers hope honest deals and better timing will help customers open their wallets and trust the system again.
