Black Friday e-sales expected to surpass Boxing Day by 77%

Black Friday week total online sales are expected to reach £7bn this year, a 164% increase on 2014 and 77% higher than expected Boxing day total sales, according to global real estate advisor Colliers International.

This is reinforced by the decrease in the number of Brits shopping on Boxing Day in 2015 (32%) compared to 2016 (23%).

The research also reveals that Black Friday is becoming more of an online event since the violent scenes witnessed in 2014. As a result, footfall was lower than anticipated in 2015 and 2016.

Mark Phillipson, head of retail at Colliers International, said:: “Black Friday is evolving into a week-long plus event in the UK. We’ve seen a build-up of sales which we expect to peak on Friday. This is also a period in the year when retailers should be at full margins but, essentially, they are giving away some of their profits in order to compete for a higher share of consumer spending.

Mark Charlton, head of UK research at Colliers International, added: “Black Friday is having a significant impact on consumer spending patterns, causing a sharper spike in sales earlier on in the Christmas run-up. In general, we expect the online sales increase to continue, with weaker footfall on the day itself and a higher surge in online traffic.”