Only 2 percent of shoppers make use of Black Friday for gifts

The Black Friday promotions are less likely to fuel Christmas gift purchases as it is for shoppers to spend on themselves.

Commenting on Black Friday sales, Ian Geddes, North South Europe head of retail at Deloitte, said: “Deloitte’s research found that UK consumers have an average Christmas budget of 567 pounds each this year, up 1.3 percent from 2018, with over a third intending to buy presents in November. Whilst just 2 percent intend to make use of Black Friday promotions for the majority of gift purchasing, it remains a key date in the retail calendar as sales are likely to be driven by self-gifting.”

“Falling on the last Friday of the month, Black Friday itself coincides with payday for many. This happy coincidence will be welcomed by retailers, which could see record sales as a result.”

Commenting on November discounting, Jason Gordon, lead consumer analytics partner at Deloitte, said: “Discounting for November is only marginally deeper, by 0.1 percent on average, than this time last year when average discounts reached 26.6 percent. Whilst discounting itself remains largely consistent with 2018, Black Friday sales have been some of the earliest on record, and could see sale volumes jump significantly for retailers.

“Some retailers are already advertising up to 70 percent off goods, but the question remains whether these offers are temporary or a seamless continuation of mid- and end-of-season autumn sales. What is clear is that Black Friday discounting is no longer a clear-cut, single day of promotions, but an extended period, with many of this year’s sales lengthening to over a fortnight. In some instances, up to three weeks.

“This is good news for consumers who are already taking advantage of the breadth of discounts on offer. Additionally, we are also seeing promotions applied to more regular merchandise, reflecting a ‘truer’ discount.

Mid-market fashion to see biggest discounting

“For those consumers looking for pre-Christmas bargains, the greatest discounts are likely to be found in the mid-market clothing category. With Black Friday sales just warming up, we could see lots of last minute discounting on the day itself.”

Source: PwC 2019 Holiday Outlook. Image by John Henderson, source Flickr