Black Friday: Retailers look to cash in as early spending surges
Black Friday spending is up by more than a fifth as Brits look to find deals online and on the high street, according to early data.
The discount day last year was the busiest shopping day on record for Nationwide customers, and the lender said by 9am spending was up 21 per cent compared to a regular Friday.
Customers had made 1.66m transactions by 9am, 11 per cent higher than on Black Friday 2023 and 21 per cent higher than on the same day in 2022, Nationwide said.
The building society also warned about the risk of scams, saying “criminals will know consumers are out in force looking for a bargain, so will look to try and take advantage.”
“Already today we have seen a 33 per cent increase in transactions being alerted as potentially fraudulent when compared to a normal Friday, while the number of potential scams being reported to us is up 17 per cent,” Britain’s biggest building society said.
Mark Nalder, director of payment strategy at Nationwide, said: “Black Friday 2023 was the busiest shopping day on record for Nationwide customers and this year’s Black Friday is shaping up to be even busier.
“The number of purchases made by 9am [was] already 11 per cent higher than the same period last year. Transactions are 21 per cent higher than a typical Friday as many people use the day to kick start their Christmas shopping.”
A British Retail Consortium spokesperson said: “Black Friday is a time of significant discounts both online and in-store and has grown to be one of the major discounting periods of the retail calendar.
“The BRC’s Consumer Sentiment Monitor found that a significant proportion of consumers use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kickstart their shopping for Christmas gifts and supplies.”
The trade body said that around 50 per cent of people surveyed wait all year to buy certain items during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale, while 64 per cent buy Christmas gifts.
The organisation added that the most sought after discounted items are clothing, electronics and beauty items.
Meanwhile, buy now pay later fintech Klarna, which recently filed for an IPO in the US, said this week has seen sales volume boom, among its 10m customers.
In so-called ‘black Friday week’ sales are up 35 per cent on last year, and the first six hours of Friday, saw sales up by 30 per cent.
‘A days-long marketing gimmick’
Retailers have looked to Black Friday to cash in after a quieter October and November.
In the lead up to the Autumn Budget, consumer confidence dropped, with retail sales falling after it.
Inflation however rose back above the Bank of England’s target, as Brits prepare to spend more during the golden quarter, in the run-up to Christmas.
Many retailers have warned that measures in the Budget, such as the hike to employers national insurance, will have a devastating impact on the industry. Yesterday it was predicted that up to 130,000 jobs may be lost as a direct result of the move.
Black Friday has also been accused of tilting the balance too much towards big retailers, and damaging smaller and more independent shops. Amazon workers also announced they would strike on Black Friday, as part of a campaign to secure better pay.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said Black Friday had “slowly turned into a days-long marketing gimmick” that allowed retailed to “shift unwanted stock by dressing it up as a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ bargain”.
“Clearing excess inventory has become a major challenge for many companies and there have been promotions galore throughout the year as the trading environment remains tough,” he added.
“Black Friday is unlikely to have any impact on a retailer’s share price given it is now just one of many discount periods in the year.”