News

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is quickly followed the next day by “Black Friday,” the biggest shopping day of the year. Stores offer wild dales and shoppers stand in line and battle each other for the best deals.

Why should the U.S. have all the fun? Panama retailers have always offered their own Black Friday sales, but now there is an effort to create a separate Black Friday in Panama.

The Panama version of Black Friday will be Sept. 15 next year, according to the Association of Shopping Centers.

The date was carefully chosen, association president Nadkyi Duque told La Prensa. For one, the retailers didn’t want to compete with the U.S. “Black Friday.” But they also wanted to find a time when tourists could take advantage of deals on local airlines, who are in an alliance with the association. And they didn’t want to interfere with holiday sales, which are always a key part of the retailers’ business.

The retailers chose a time of year when Panamanians “had money available to make their purchases,” Duque said.

The association is clearly looking to make the Panama “Black Friday” an international event, working with the airlines to design an occasion to lure shoppers from around the region. The association represents 11 shopping malls, eager to build traffic in a slow time of the year

For shoppers, that means only one thing—more deals! Let the shopping begin!