Invented ecommerce events are very much in vogue right now. Only last week, we wrote about Way Day from Wayfair. And some of the biggest ecommerce retailers and marketplaces in France have come up with a new concept: French Days. An event to promote online shopping from French retailers. It was announced in Paris Match magazine under the headline: Les French Days ou l’offensive des champions de l’e-commerce français.
The idea is to create a French alternative to Black Friday that supports local retailers. The event has been running run from since the 27th April until 1st May.
And it features some of the biggest names in French ecommerce, including several of the big online marketplaces there. Cdiscount (part of the Casino Group), Showroomprive.com, Rue du Commerce (Carrefour), Fnac Darty, Boulanger and La Redoute are all on board with French Days. The organisers stressed that the event is open to all retailers and merchants and the announcement led to Kiabi, Monoprix and Sarenza also offering French Days discounts.
Our initiative is the story of a challenge. Would we be able to organize our own event on the internet? The answer was “yes”, provided that we would act together.
– Nathalie Mesny, CEO of Rue Du Commerce
Several things are not entirely clear. Why has the Labour day period been chosen? Black Friday isn’t entirely ersatz and represents the firm start of the holiday shopping season. But the French Days date is less comprehensible, although it is typically a big holiday weekend in continental Europe. Marketplaces in France might be kick-starting some summer promotions.
Have any Tamebay merchants and readers enjoyed any greater success over the period it has been running (it ends on Tuesday) or seen a great deal of promotional effort put into it? It’s difficult to judge whether it has been anything close to a bonanza. We’d love to hear from anyone in France with insights into French Days.
