Shoppers set to fork out more than last year on Black Friday buys
Shoppers are set to splash more cash on Black Friday purchases this year, despite cost of living pressures.
Consumers will fork out seven per cent more for the shopping occasion, which falls amid a rare winter World Cup tournament, estimates from Nationwide have revealed.
The building society forecast that its members would spend more than £222,000 per minute this Friday.
Brits will be lured out to stores this week due to consumers wanting to experience the high street’s Christmas decorations once more, after a lacklustre festive lead-up last year, retail footfall data firm Springboard predicted.
Retail destinations are set to see a 12.8 per cent footfall boost, as shoppers hunt for bargains amid a cost of living crunch.
While high streets will see bigger crowds than last year, footfall is still set to be 7.8 per cent lower than 2019’s shopping occasion.
The prediction from Springboard comes as retailers are currently facing a tough winter, as consumers prepare to pare back discretionary spending.
Shopping this week will be driven by fears around supply shortages and eagerness for the first Christmas without Covid restrictions in years.
E-commerce retailers are set to face added challenges due to Royal Mail industrial action, as well as elevated logistics costs.
Strike action will fall on 24 November, as well as Black Friday itself on 25 November, the busiest online shopping day.
Posties are also set to walk out on 30 November and 1 December, following Cyber Monday.
This “poses a real concern” for retailers, Simon Geale, head of supply chain consultancy Proxima, said.
“Some will look to cut deals with courier services such as Yodel or DHL, but with couriers increasingly in demand, they are quickly reaching capacity,” Geale added.
Several e-commerce heavyweights, including Amazon and Alibaba, started offering discounts and deals earlier this year.
“For online retailers, this makes a lot of sense as it stops too much merchandise having to be shipped on a single day, with all the pressure of increased logistical costs making that particularly problematic this year,” Charles Allen, retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said.