In America, Black Friday - the Friday following Thanksgiving - unofficially marks the start of the Christmas shopping season, but in the UK, Black Friday was of no special importance up until 2012.
Since 2013, however, Black Friday sales have increased at a rate of at least 20% per year - almost twice the 11% increase of the online shopping revenue in the UK.
According to insurance company Row.co.uk, of the total spend in the UK over 2015 of £114 billion, 21% - or £24 billion - was spent over the (entire) Christmas season. Revenue over the weekend following Black Friday amounted to £4.3 billion, a result far ahead of the combined revenue of Manic Monday (1 December), Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day of around £2.95 billion.
A spokesperson for Row.co.uk commented, "Several million mobile phones were purchased last year on Black Friday, with Carphone Warehouse alone claiming a 182% increase in handset sales", adding, "There’s no sign that these sales will slow down."
The increasing popularity of the Black Friday shopping weekend is expected to phase out the traditional Boxing Day Sales.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
