Retailers Braced For Black Friday Frenzy

Analysts have suggested that Black Friday, an American import tied to the United States holiday of Thanksgiving, has not introduced new deals to the retail calendar but simply brought the Christmas sales period forward, ultimately hurting retailers’ margins and stock supply later in the year.

Britain’s shopping streets, out-of-town malls and websites will be awash with discounted goods on Friday as shoppers chase “Black Friday” deals in a spending frenzy expected to top last year’s record level.

Black Friday has come to Africa.

Researcher FootFall reckons Black Friday in-store shopper numbers will be down by up to 4 percent year-on-year, also impacted by some retailers – including Amazon, Argos, Marks & Spencer and Dixons Carphone – elongating Black Friday activity beyond a single day of discounts.

The supermarket is offering over 200 electrical, entertainment and mobile products with discounts of up to 70 percent.

Meanwhile, retailers’ discounts this year are not as deep as last.

What’s more, Which? encouraged customers to be arranged by enlisting for cautions from most loved retailers, hunting down standard costs early so as to spot bona fide deals and to know that numerous arrangements are now accessible on the web.

That will mean managing the event better than previous year, when a surge in low-margin Black Friday sales was followed by weaker-than-expected demand, as shoppers held back in the hope of more discounts as well as traditional post-Christmas sales. But it was exciting for retailers and exceeded expectations, he said.

Black Friday in the U.S.is considered the official start of the Christmas shopping season.

“Our own local area was no exception and I am sure that many of us were fairly surprised at some of the scenes and behaviour we saw reported in the media”.

After showdowns in the aisles in 2014, not much love has been lost on Black Friday this year, with shoppers and pundits alike complaining vocally about the deals bonanza.

That’s not the only pitfall facing retailers on Black Friday.

Visa Europe predicts that customers will burn through £721 million online on its cards on Friday, up from £616 million a year ago. EBay predicts 9 million Britons will visit its website Friday, buying 25 items every second.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, says the majority of Black Friday deals “aren’t special”, adding: “If you don’t want something, don’t need it or can’t afford it, then don’t buy it”. Asked why the chain had embraced Black Friday, Jack Gorman, a spokesman, appeared to attribute the phenomenon to a pack mentality.

Valerie Faulkner, 41, who was walking through the store, said she initially had no idea that Black Friday was a US tradition until she searched for it on Google.