£1bn to be spent online by UK consumers this ‘Black Friday’

Retailers have been warned to prepare for a rise of almost a third in spending on ‘Black Friday’ this year, according to new figures.

The annual discount day on November 27, which caught on from a trend by US retailers, will be the first time ever that UK online retail sales exceed £1bn in a single day, if forecasts from Experian, in conjunction with IMRG, prove correct.

Due to increased consumer awareness of discounting by retailers around the pre-Christmas shopping dates, Experian and IMRG predicted this retail season to rapidly surpass 2014, with total spend reaching £1.07bn.

The main pre-Christmas shopping days are also expected to see an uplift in spending, including Cyber Monday (November 30) and Manic Monday (December 7). Boxing Day and New Year’s Day will also see an increase in spend compared to 2014, according to Experian.

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Experian’s predicitions:

• Black Friday (November 27) – £1.07bn up 32% year-on-year (£810m)
• Cyber Monday (November 30) – £943m up 31% year-on-year (£720m)
• Manic Monday (December 7) – £733m up 10% year-on-year (£666m)
• Christmas Day (December 25) – £728m up 11% year-on-year (£658m)
• Boxing Day (December 26) – £856m up 22% year-on-year (£699m)
• New Year’s day (January 1) – £638m up 33% year-on-year (£478m)

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Justin Opie, managing director at IMRG, said: “The size and scale of Black Friday 2014 took everyone by surprise, overwhelming some carrier and retailer operations, as order volumes came in at a full 30% higher than expectation.

“All the indicators point to a much larger Black Friday this year – both in terms of greater numbers of retailers taking part and growing shopper interest – so the opportunity is vast, but there are many things to consider if it is to be managed efficiently and effectively.

“The first is that we expect Black Friday to become the ‘Black Friday period’ for some retailers, who will run campaigns over several days or even weeks. Also last year anticipation of Black Friday led to a slow start to the Christmas shopping season and panic-discounting by some, which impacted on profit margins.

“So the availability and rate of discounts will need to be rationalised this year for it to be sustainable.”