If you had any doubt about how popular Black Friday is as a shopping holiday, a new survey show that it’s not just the US that shops for Christmas gifts or luxury items during and after Thanksgiving. Indeed, Britain’s Telegraph reports that “Black Friday is now the biggest shopping period of the year in the UK, and runs from November 25 – the day after Thanksgiving – until November 28, which is known as Cyber Monday.”  But it’s not just the English speaking world that will be shopping for deals.  Looks like more than 8 countries will be shopping on Black Friday, which means there’s a bit more competition for the deals.

An international survey taken among 3,400 participants in 8 developed countries on online shopping during the holiday season, shows that Black Friday is becoming a major shopping event outside the U.S. In the U.S. approximately 26% of the respondents stated they plan to buy online on Black Friday while around 28% are planning to do so on Cyber Monday. The average in the 8 countries surveyed shows that 16.5% of the respondents expressed a preference to buy online on Black Friday, compared to around 9% on Cyber Monday.

A survey conducted in early November 2016 by One Hour Translation, the world’s largest online translation agency, which provides translation services to thousands of global e-commerce companies, indicates that online shopping in Black Friday is expanding beyond the U.S. and gaining popularity in other developed countries.

The survey was performed in cooperation with Google Consumer Surveys among a total of 3,600 participants in 8 developed countries: the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Japan. In the survey, One Hour Translation asked: “In what day or days are you planning to do your online shopping this year?” The respondents could select more than one answer. The survey analyzed 1,000 responses in U.S., 600 in the U.K. and 300 in each one of the other 6 countries.

In the U.S., around 26% of the respondents plan to buy online on Black Friday, which falls on November 25^th this year, while around 28% plan to do so on Cyber Monday (November 28^th).

The average of the 8 countries surveyed shows that 16.5% of the respondents prefer to buy online on Black Friday, compared to around 9% on Cyber Monday – data that clearly show that Black Friday, which became a popular shopping event in the U.S. during the 1960s, is becoming a significant online shopping event outside of the U.S.

In Canada, 19.5% of the respondents said they plan to buy online on Black Friday, compared to 8% on Cyber Monday. In the U.K., the scores were 27% for Black Friday and 10% or Cyber Monday, while in Germany the scores were 12% and 8% respectively.

In Spain, 29% of the respondents said they plan to buy online on Black Friday, compared to 5% on Cyber Monday.

The results in Australia were 11% for Black Friday, compared to 6% for Cyber Monday. The male respondents in Australia scored 17% interest in Black Friday.

Black Friday is still struggling to make it with French online shoppers. The survey showed keen interest among 18% of the French surveyed between the ages of 25 and 44 in Black Friday online promotions, but there was no interest whatsoever among those above 45. The overall level in France was 7% for Black Friday and 2% for Cyber Monday.

Japan seems to show the least interest in the Christmas season online shopping frenzy. The results in Japan were 5% for Black Friday and 3% for Cyber Monday. Nevertheless, the results show higher rates of interest in the 25-34 year-old segment where 13% showed interest in Black Friday and 10% for Cyber Monday.

Millennials lead the holiday season online shopping frenzy

According to One Hour Translation’s survey, young people between 18 and 34 show a strong tendency to buy online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

In the U.S., 44% of the 18-34 year olds surveyed said they plan to buy online on Black Friday, and 42% on Cyber Monday. For the 35-64 year olds surveyed the results were 21% on Black Friday, and around 23% intended to do so on Cyber Monday. In the 65 and older category only 5% planned to buy online on Black Friday, compared to around 12% on Cyber Monday.

The 35-64 age group has also shown lower percentages than younger people outside the U.S. – Canada (18% intend to buy online on Black Friday and 8% on Cyber Monday; U.K. (25% for Black Friday and 10% for Cyber Monday); France (7% and 2% respectively); Germany (13% and 7%); Australia (10% and 4%) and Japan (5.5% and 3%). Spain stood out, with 31% of the 35-64 age group opting for Black Friday, but only 6% for Cyber Monday.

Other interesting data pertain to those 65 or older living outside the U.S. Cyber Monday draws no interest with this segment in Spain, France, Japan and Canada, compared to around 5% in Australia and 14.5% in Germany. In contrast, 36% of those 65 or older in Spain say they would buy online on Black Friday, compared to 9% of this age segment in Australia, 14% in Germany and 0% in France, Japan and Canada.

“The Christmas holiday season online shopping events are the culmination of the preparations by the world’s largest e-commerce players, which began in early 2016,” said Ofer Shoshan, Co-Founder and CEO of One Hour Translation. “These preparations included upgrading and localizing websites in order to adapt them to shoppers all over the globe. The survey we conducted proves that Black Friday, a shopping event that was considered purely American, is becoming popular even in major non-English speaking countries.”

Shoshan summarized: “The e-commerce players understand that in order to boost their sales and reach wide audiences all over the world, they have to make their websites accessible to consumers in their own languages.”

Thanks to One Hour Translation for providing this data. For more information, please visit One Hour Translation’s website.