Bringing Black Friday forward
Black Friday discounting is already underway at retailers from Wiggle to Currys PC World – where the message is why wait for Black Friday? It seems the thinking is that if pre-Christmas spending is to take place in November, with Black Friday this year falling on November 23, then why not have that spending happen earlier? Wiggle is now into the second of four weeks of pre-Black Friday discounting, offering up to 50% off a select range of sporting goods each week, before, on Black Friday itself, offering deals on still more products.
Currys PC World and sister retailer Carphone Warehouse are, as of today, guaranteeing Black Friday prices now on Black Tag products. Shoppers who buy at current prices only for the price to be reduced further in the future will get the difference refunded, as long as they have registered within two weeks of buying, at www.currys.co.uk/WhyWait. The deals, on brands including KitchenAid, Hotpoint, Sony and HP, are in effect being made available two weeks ahead of time in order to encourage shoppers waiting for future discounts to spend their cash now. That seems an answer to previous reports suggesting that shoppers were holding off on spending as they wait for Black Friday deals. At the same time, they are promising to match the deals offered by other major retailers.
Zeena Hill, commercial marketing director at the Curry PC World and Carphone Warehouse parent company Dixons Carphone, said: “Black Friday remains a key calendar date for consumers. It’s fantastic to be able to offer both our loyal and new shoppers an opportunity to purchase amazing technology at great prices ahead of the worldwide rush on 23rd November.”
On Black Friday itself, 327 Currys PC World stores will open at 7am in time for what it expects to be a rush on the day, and orders will arrive in time for Christmas when they are placed before December 22.
Black Friday predictions
Dixons Carphone has also unveiled its predictions for consumer behaviour on its websites on Black Friday. It says it’s expecting 37 orders a minute, on average, over the course of the whole Black Tag event. It expects that 44% of transitions will take place via mobile, and that over the Black Friday period, the nation will spend a collective 198m minutes on the Currys PC World website. It’s also expecting to see home delivery orders at their highest ever level, as shoppers opt for convenience, and it expects that large screen TVs and Windows PCs will sell particularly quickly.
