BRITONS are expected to spend £3.49 billion on bargains over four days
starting with Black Friday – with online sales alone predicted to be up 16
per cent on last year.
It’s thought over 14 million shoppers will take part in the annual sales
bonanza imported from the States where retailers kick-start the gift-buying
season by slashing prices.
The spending spree starts this Friday – the day after Thanksgiving in the US –
and culminates with Cyber Monday when most workers will be in possession of
their last pay cheque of the year.
Those in the UK are expected to spend 21 per cent, or £450 million, more over
the four days than France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and
Belgium combined, according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research
(CRR) and VoucherCodes.co.uk.
And despite last year’s crowds and incidents of havoc in stores, the event is
expected to boost footfall on the high street, with 13.9 million people
expected to do at least some of their shopping in bricks and mortar
locations.
However most cash – £2.22 billion – will be spent online, up 16 per cent on
last year’s £1.91 billion, the CRR predicts.
Visa Europe has predicted Black Friday shoppers will put a total of £1.9
billion on its cards alone.
It estimates shoppers will put £721 million spent on online purchases on its
cards, up 17 per cent on last year and a 61 per cent increase on 2013,
peaking in the “golden hour” between 6pm and 7pm when commuters
buy via their phones and tablets.
Another £1.19 billion will be spent on its cards in fast-to-face transactions
– up only 4 per cent on last year but 20 per cent on 2013 – peaking in the
lunchtime hour between 1pm and 2pm.
VoucherCodes said its traffic spiked at 8.36am on Black Friday last year,
compared with 9.52am in 2013, suggesting shoppers are starting ever earlier.
A YouGov poll for VoucherCodes suggests that shoppers who missed out on
savings last year could be behind the predicted increase in sales, with
around half of those aware of Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year
reporting that they did not participate last year.
The survey found almost a quarter (23 per cent) of those planning to shop on
Black Friday will have a list of items they hope to find on offer, while 9
per cent are planning to fill their online basket ahead of time in the hope
they go down in price.
Of those planning to shop on Cyber Monday, 15 per cent are keen to put aside
money to spend specifically on this date.
VoucherCodes managing director Claire Davenport said: “As the dates grow
in popularity, the weekend is proving to be a targeted occasion where
consumers can purchase selected and pre-planned goods at a better value to
help make the financial load of Christmas a little easier.”
Kevin Jenkins, Visa Europe managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “This
is shaping up to be a huge weekend, online and in-store, for retailers.
We’re looking at a combined £1.9 billion being spent on Black Friday as
retailers discount across both mediums.
“It will be a tale of two different golden hours on the day. On the high
street, we’ll see a huge lunchtime rush. Online, the commuter hour will see
the highest levels of buying, confirming the growing number of people who
think mobile first for shopping.
“Black Friday’s growth is really coming online in particular – that’s where
this year’s surge is going to come from. It’s also firmly become the bigger
brother to the more traditional Cyber Monday.”