Retailers preparing for Black Friday are starting to put their dedicated stores in place ahead of what’s expected to be the UK’s first £1bn online shopping day.
Amazon , John Lewis and M&S have all opened the virtual doors on their dedicated web pages, signposting current deals as well as those to come on Black Friday itself, which this year falls on November 27.
Both IMRG/Experian and Salmon have predicted that UK shoppers will spend more than £1bn on Black Friday, up from the £810m that the IMRG recorded at the same time last year – and retailers have been warned to prepare for what could be their biggest ever shopping day.
Andy Mulcahy, editor at IMRG has said that Black Friday 2014 caused a “seismic shift” in Christmas shopping trends, even for those who didn’t discount. “It has changed the complexion of the peak period, putting a far greater emphasis on discounting, which shopper attitudes currently seem to be very evenly split on,” he said.
“All the indications are that it’s going to get even bigger this year, so there are some key issues that need to be addressed – such as the availability and rate of discounts on offer, the delivery promise to customers, site performance etc – as this will likely be a pivotal year in terms of shaping how Black Friday works and, crucially, how shoppers feel about it.”
Keep reading our rolling report on Black Friday and Christmas 2015 to get the full picture all in one place.
