Dacia is known mainly for producing extremely inexpensive vehicles, so when Black Friday comes around, you would expect it to go nuts. Instead, it has decided to take the opportunity to show how low its prices are year-round, by shutting down its online sales site and car configurator for the day.
“At Dacia, Black Friday is just a normal Friday,” said Luke Broad, Dacia’s director in the U.K. “Shutting down our online sales for the day is a bold move but it does show our commitment to being the UK’s number one car manufacturer for value. This is a way to put our money where our mouth is.”
The decision also comes as research commissioned by the brand shows that 70 percent of Britons believe that Black Friday is a gimmick. Our American readers may be surprised to hear that they observe the event at all, given that it is so closely tied to Thanksgiving, but marketers will use any excuse they can to have a sale.
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And there’s good reason for that. Even though most Brits believe that the Black Friday is a gimmick, 56 percent say they still use it as an excuse to shop for Christmas gifts. However, 46 percent said they wouldn’t be participating the in the sales this year.
Among their reasons for avoiding shopping, 22 percent said they were skeptical of the deals, 13 percent wanted to avoid the lines and the chaos in the shops, 11 wanted to avoid feeling scammed, and nine percent said they wanted to avoid overspending.
To honor their wishes, Dacia isn’t just shutting down its online sales site. It also bought radio ads that just play relaxing sounds, so that consumers can “tune out of the Black Friday noise.”
“Black Friday can easily lead consumers to overspend on products they don’t need – which isn’t what Dacia is about,” said Broad. “Today, you can relax knowing our cars are built tough and built to last, so you can take a break and buy from us tomorrow, confident that you’re getting the best value on the market.”
