Black Friday - the retail sales that occur on the Friday after Thanksgiving—used to be an American tradition, until now. This year, the day of sales arrived in the UK. UK based internet searches for “Black Friday” were up by 355% in 2013 and look to be even higher this year. This ever increasing online popularity of Black Friday has led to a large number of online retailers in the UK offering Black Friday deals.
Last year, so many retailers ran promotions that 72% of the UK population said they know about the Black Friday sales. If Black Friday continues to become more popular in the UK it’s possible it could overtake Boxing Day and be the biggest sales day in the UK. Plusnet looks into how possible this may be.
The growth of Black Friday
Last year Experian stated, that “Searches for ‘Black Friday’ were up 355% in 2013” and this huge growth in online search behaviour shows that there is still room for an even higher volume of Black Friday searches in the years to come. They also predicted that £10.5 billion would be spent on online retail transactions in December 2013 alone. Black Friday’s popularity amongst UK consumers was also shown on Twitter as Crimson Hexagon showed “there were a total of 4,156,900 tweets about Black Friday, of which 43% were positive, 35% negative and 21% neutral”.
There were 129 million visits to retail websites on Boxing Day which was a year on year increase of 15 per cent which, according to Experian, still made the 26th December the biggest online shopping day ever. However, the growth of online searches for Black Friday deals are likely to keep increasing at a much faster rate than any other sales shopping day in the UK which could result in Boxing Day becoming a less popular day for consumers to buy products.
The emergence of Cyber Monday
Black Friday has proven so popular that the sales will often extend over the week, usually ending on the Monday—a day which is now dubbed Cyber Monday, due to the emphasis on online shopping. Surprisingly, many retailers have already said that Cyber Monday last year was one of their busiest days on record despite Cyber Monday not having the same level of awareness amongst the UK audience. Amazon for example, said that last year they made 4.1m sales on the 2nd December 2013 (Cyber Monday)which actually beat their previous record of 4m on Black Friday, which was set 76 hours earlier.
Many UK retailers taking part in Black Friday have already announced that their sales will likely run through to Cyber Monday as they hope to emulate Amazon’s past success. Check out our previous guide to Cyber Monday and how to find the best deals using apps.
A true bargain
There’s a cultural habit in the UK to always try to get a bargain especially on days with predictable discounts. However, many shoppers have started becoming wiser to sales that are advertised and don’t completely believe they are genuinely being offered a good discount. Instead, consumers are now willing to spend money for the right kind of deal. If a high quality, expensive product is on sale, this is more likely to attract a consumer in 2014 than a cheaper product with a small discount or free delivery.
Even Black Friday isn’t immune from this way of thinking as research shows that Black Friday isn’t always the best day for deals as some retailers offer better deals on other days of the next year. The rise in online comparison sites and mobile applications that can scan product barcodes for the best price, has given tech savvy consumers an advantage at spotting the deals that are the best value for money. This ability to compare prices much quicker than ever before has led to a significant rise in sales on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day as retailers now have to compete to offer genuine savings.
Timing
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday take place before Christmas they seem more advantageous to shoppers at this time of year. Not only does Black Friday offer retailers large discounts, but it does so in time for Christmas. Many of the customers this weekend are likely buying presents. Boxing day on the other hand takes place after Christmas, which is great if you have a lot of money to spare, but most consumers don’t: Christmas has most likely taken its toll.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a bargain you’d be hard pressed to find a day offering better value for money, especially before Christmas. This is Black Friday’s true strength: Boxing Day allows you to get a bargain for yourself, but Black Friday allows you to get a bargain for your loved ones. Why not visit www.plus.net to check out our Black Friday deal and for further information on all Plusnet's offers!
Are you doing some shopping for Black Friday? Have you come across some bargains you would like to share with the Plusnet Community below? Let us know…