White Friday Week came and went from the 24th to 30th of November 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and, according to the Khaleej Times, the sale fever had shoppers gripped for another year packed with incredible deals and discounts on just about everything.
Globally, there have been 460 000 news articles that have mentioned “Black Friday” in the last 14 days, with just over 1 800 news mentions coming from the Middle East. In the UAE, 284 articles have talked about “Black Friday” while only 86 news articles mention “White Friday”. But, how have online users in the UAE felt towards the week of discounts and sales during the month of November?
Meltwater, the global leaders in media intelligence, analysed social media and news media mentions on “White Friday” to explore the numbers and sentiment around this year’s super sale season.
“White Friday” in Numbers
During the last 30 days, the data recorded 844 social media mentions in the Middle East surrounding “white friday”. 39.4% of those mentions came from the UAE while 38.7% came from Saudi Arabia, making these two countries the top two, in the region, to have online users talking about White Friday online.
Online mentions from the UAE were predominantly from users and brands, including Amazon AE, sharing various discounts and sales that were to be expected throughout White Friday week. In Saudi Arabia, Twitter account “Shopping Saudi Arabia” dominated much of the online mentions as it shared a 20-70% off discount sale that shoppers could expect.
Middle East Heat Map of Social Media Mentions on “White Friday” between 1 November and 2 December 2020
The social reach of Twitter mentions on “White Friday” have naturally been rising since the start of November, with the peak of these social media mentions reaching a total of 6 Million people on Twitter in the UAE during the week of the 23rd of November 2020.
This was mainly due to the number of brands and businesses using the platform to share their discounts and sales. Some of the top Twitter accounts contributing to this social reach include:
- Nutrifactor UAE
- Emirates NBD
- Hisense Middle East
Social Reach of “White Friday” in the UAE between 1 November and 4 December 2020
The total media exposure of news media mentions on “White Friday” in the UAE this year increased by 43%, as compared to last year indicating that there was more interest in this year’s retail sale season. Some of the top publications to mention “White Friday” include:
- Campaign ME
- Zawya
- Review Central Middle East
How people felt about this year’s White Friday
Naturally, online users were keen to source the “best deals”, “discounts” and stores to use “coupons” for White Friday. “Coffee” emerged as a trending theme in the UAE due to this Twitter account sharing it's up to 70% off sale on coffee goods.
Other trending themes included:
- “Cashback” which refers to this Twitter account and it’s White Friday deal
- “Awesome kid friendly attractions” which refers to this tweet from Gulf News
- which refers to this tweet from Styli
Social Media Trending Themes on “White Friday” in the UAE from 1 November to 4 December 2020
Analysing the sentiment analysis of social media, the data indicates that overall, “White Friday” in the UAE was well received among online users.
From the discounts and savings to Red Sea Mall launching a “White Friday” promotion in partnership with international brands, and Amazon having discounts on more than 30 product categories, shoppers were left pleasantly happy with the offerings of the day. The extension of sales into the first few days of December were also welcomed by online users who didn’t manage to shop over the White Friday weekend.
However, there were online users who were confused by why “Black Friday” is known as “White Friday” in the region, as tweeted by @HoneyBunz007 as well as influential Twitter user @Vaush whose tweet attracted a number of responses and engagement around what “White Friday” is.
Nonetheless, 90% of online users in the UAE were happy with “White Friday” offerings during the week of the 23rd of November while only less than 10% weren’t too sure about the name convention of the biggest shopping day of the year.
Social Media Sentiment on “White Friday” between 1 November and 4 December 2020
Overall, “White Friday” in the UAE proved to be a positive experience for consumers who were looking to get great savings and discounts throughout the sale season.
With more news articles talking about what was to be expected this year, and big brands such as Amazon, providing a number of deals, online users were pleased with that “White Friday” delivered this year and time will tell if 2021 will be just as successful.
If you want to get insights like these to monitor trending topics in news and social media about your brand, business, industry or competitors, you can contact the Meltwater Team here.
Source: Data gathered by Meltwater from 1 November 2020 to 4 December 2020.
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About Meltwater
With 20 years of experience in the field of online media monitoring, Meltwater is a global leader in media intelligence and social analytics solutions, helping to bridge the gap between Public Relations, Communications and Marketing departments with an all-in-one solution powered by AI-driven insights. Over 30,000 of the world’s most respected brands rely on Meltwater to help inform their marketing and communications strategies and executive decision making.
With over 55 offices across six continents, Meltwater is a truly global partner with local customer success teams. Meltwater also supports the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing future generations of entrepreneurs. For more information, follow Meltwater on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or visit www.meltwater.com.
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