Black Friday: More Dutch companies offering massive discounts today

It's Black Friday today. And the American tradition of offering massive sales and discounts on the Friday after Thanksgiving seems to now also be firmly rooted in the Netherlands. According to research agency Motivaction, more and more Dutch shops, businesses and consumers are participating in the discount circus, NOS reports.

In Rotterdam, it's not only shops offering discounts. The municipality teamed up with retailers, hotels and museums to make an entire weekend of it, according to the broadcaster.

One in five Dutch people now know what Black Friday is, according to Motivaction. And one in three millennials - people born between 1980 and 2000 - are going bargain hunting today, twice as many as last year.

Black Friday is originally an American tradition, held on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Stores offer massive discounts, and consumers jump at the opportunity to get their Christmas shopping done as cheaply as possible. The result is huge crowds of people, long lines in front of stores and a lot of pushing and pulling.

The tradition moved to the Netherlands via Great Britain about five years ago. Though consumers association Consumentenbond warns Dutch buyers to keep a clear head and watch out for fake offers. "There will be some good ones, but there are also fantasy prices. For example, a product with a from-price that has never been sold for that amount."

To make sure you get the best out of Black Friday, the Consumentenbond came up with these tips:

• Don't look at the discount, look at what the product costs
• Compare the offer to others, is it really the cheapest?
• Keep asking yourself whether you really need this, to prevent impulse purchases
• Keep a cool head