Hype or happiness for Black Friday?

The retail conversation of the week; Black Friday & Cyber Monday. The US phenomenon that’s now become a key retail period in the UK.

But when did the US retail sale become part of the UK calendar and is it here to stay or leave just as quickly as it arrived?

Reports predict £1bn of online sales in the UK for Black Friday alone. Over the full weekend UK shoppers are expected to spend £3.5bn in online sales. 11.5% up from last year’s spend.

Retailers and shoppers alike have mixed feelings on Black Friday some seeing it as hype, a US shopping trend that will never really take off in the UK. Other savvy shoppers are full of happiness for the offers, confident on where the best deals will be this year and bagging a bargain for a loved one at Christmas or getting that “I couldn’t live without” present for themselves.

Whether Black Friday is your friend or foe it looks as though it’s here to stay.

2014

£810m Black Friday

£720m Cyber Monday

£702m Boxing Day

£4bn Total five – week period

2015 predictions

£1.07bn Black Friday

£943m Cyber Monday

£856m Boxing Day

£4.9bn Total five – week period

Source: Experian – IMRG

 

Key retailers with promotions this year include John Lewis with their price match on electricals, Amazon, Curry’s PC World, House of Frazer, Boots, eBay, Tesco, Argos and Very, to mention just a few.

In 2014 pictures were banded around all social streams showing the chaos and sheer volume of shoppers pouring into supermarkets to grab a bargain on a big screen telly, security staff and store closures. In 2015, Asda aren’t running a Black Friday specific campaign instead on offer to shoppers is an up to half price sale over November and December avoiding a single day panic buy with its customers.

With the evolution in shopper buying habits, across multiple touch points instore and online; the shopper tailors shopping around their busy lifestyles when convenient. Black Friday reminds shoppers to look up and take notice of promotions on offer from retailers. But does this mean Black Friday will fight with similar promotions in winter, is Black Friday the new Boxing Day?

Boxing Day, often filled with regret of how much food was consumed the previous day and THE BIGGEST period of the retailers calendar. Recognised in history as the best day to get the best bargains in retail, with the introduction of Black Friday will shoppers avoid the Boxing Day Sales?

There’s limited data to support this relatively new addition to the UK shopper calendar, some retailers are nervous that their audience will reduce spend in the post-Christmas sale if they participate in Black Friday and will therefore bide their time waiting in the wings until more figures are available to support the sale.

Black Friday is the ideal opportunity for the savvy-shopper looking out for the best deals, for the considered shopper teetering on the edge of purchase and for the just by chance shopper. A retailers dream of a primed audience looking for a bargain, a sale that is likely to become less of a trend and more of a embraced pre-Christmas sale so shoppers everywhere can grab a bargain both pre and post-Christmas.

Here at The Behaviours Agency, we have created a number of Black Friday promotions for our client’s and will watch with interest how successful they are, and also how they impact on December’s and January’s sales too. You’ll able to view these case studies here https://thebehavioursagency.com/work/ soon…

 

Laura Duffy
Account Manager