British shoppers will start cashing in on pre-Christmas deals today five days ahead of a £2.53billion spending splurge on Black Friday
- String of UK stores are already offering goods at discounted ‘Black Friday’ prices
- Shoppers are expected to splash out £2.35bn this year – 3.4% more than 2018
- In addition, £8.57bn will be splurged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Customers will start cashing in on pre-Christmas deals from today, as retailers slash prices in the five days leading up to the shopping event Black Friday.
Several major stores have already started offering their discounts, both in store and online, ahead of the official day on November 29.
Debenhams and Argos are among those cutting their prices early, with their sales starting tomorrow.
Several major stores have already started offering their discounts, both in store and online, ahead of the official day on November 29
Debenhams and Argos are among those cutting their prices early, with their sales starting tomorrow
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research’s figures have predicted shoppers will spend a record-breaking £2.53billion this Friday alone.
This is 3.4% more than last year, as the American tradition becomes more popular in the UK.
The statistics also show that £8.57billion will be splurged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday which falls on December 2.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research’s figures have predicted we will spend a record-breaking £2.53billion this Friday alone
But spending on high streets over the Christmas period will be lower than recent years as online shopping booms to record levels.
In the six weeks up until Christmas Eve, £52.6bn will be spent in stores, down £2bn or 4 per cent from last Christmas, while £27.6bn will be spent via the internet, up £2.5bn or 10 per cent.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: ‘Despite Brexit and the election, people still want to celebrate and buy Christmas presents. But high streets are in for a caning as online sees a peak.
‘There will be retailers going into administration in January despite Christmas spending. Discounting over the Christmas period reduces profit margins.’
The British Retail Consortium said: ‘Weak consumer demand, Brexit uncertainty and fierce competition continue to put pressure on retailers amid transformation in the industry.’
The department store Debenhams has said it is offering £270million worth of savings this year.
It has predicted sales to be 800% bigger than a normal Friday and will be taking 250 orders a minute at the busiest times.
Steven Cook, of Debenhams, said: ‘We have a long tradition of kick-starting the Christmas shopping season.
‘We always have an event in the week Black Friday falls and this year’s is bigger and better than ever.’
Argos will also be cutting its prices early after last year, when its website had 10,300 visits per minute on Black Friday.
James Brown, of Argos, said: ‘Black Friday remains our busiest day of the year for online visits.’
Amazon, Boohoo, eBay, Matalan and Halfords are among the other stores who are dropping prices before the day itself.