Black Friday delivers limited lift to discretionary retail sales in November

Black Friday provided only a modest boost to discretionary retail sales in November, with total like-for-like sales rising 3.4% against a weak comparison period in 2024, according to BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker.

The increase followed a 5.8% fall a year earlier. The month, which included the peak promotional weekend, saw in-store sales rise 1.3% from a 5.5% decline in November 2024. BDO said the improvement was still well below inflation, pointing to lower sales volumes.

Growth was driven by online spending, which increased 9.9% compared with a 7.8% fall last year. The figures reflect the continued difficulty faced by physical stores in attracting shoppers, while online sales only returned to levels seen in 2023.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said: “Black Friday failed to drive any meaningful sales growth for retailers or get shoppers spending in stores in November.

“In fact, the week of Black Friday saw the lowest sales growth during the month, at just 0.38% above the same week last year. Sales on the high street registered minimal growth, and while online sales performed better, retailers discounted heavily throughout November to generate these sales, which will have put further pressure on their margins.”

Michael said weaker sentiment was also holding back discretionary spending and that “wider economic conditions are unlikely to have encouraged many shoppers to go out and spend in discretionary categories”.

She said: “While retailers may have thought that consumers were holding back until the budget, which was unhelpfully late in the Golden Quarter, the expected surge in Black Friday discretionary spending just hasn’t materialised.”

Michael also warned that discounting was unlikely to provide a straightforward solution. She concluded: “It will be tempting for retailers to continue the heavy discounting we saw in November, to boost sales and clear stock before new product lines come through in January, but we know that this only erodes margins.

“Margins and profits are already under huge pressure, and we’ve seen in November that discounts are not enough to get shoppers into stores. The balance between being left with high levels of stock or driving profits down will be challenging. With one month to go, retailers have to be creative in how they engage with customers and attract spending in this competitive landscape where economic pressures are reshaping festive priorities.”