Sumera Rembert, 43, of Woodbury, who had camped in a tent outside the Best Buy across from Deptford Mall since Tuesday afternoon, was representative of the shoppers’ zeal that merchants are banking on for a successful season.
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We’ve been working hard all week to collect together as numerous best deals we can so you don’t have to – giving you time to concentrate on just how you’re going to spend all the money you’ve saved.
As the American institution becomes firmly established as a feature of the shopping scene on the other side of the Atlantic, we ask how United Kingdom retailers plan to fend off scenes of violence – and why businesses even bother getting involved in a shopping event that most people outside of the U.S. had never even heard of until recent years.
Shopper traffic on Black Friday fell by 4.05% compared to a year ago, according to retail experts FootFall. They report annual online revenues of £1.4 billion and here at Capacitas we typically see 2% of demand taking place on Black Friday.
Nathan Sanderson, 23, of Scunthorpe, said that he had turned up to the shop at 7.30am after a night shift at work. The on-line retailer has slashed the worth of Samsung, LG & Sony HDTVs, making them more reasonably priced this season.
In fact, millions of people try to upgrade their television sets every Black Friday sale as there are many retail stores that offer great TV deals during this day.
Amazon.co.uk is offering its Fire tablet for £34.99, £15 cheaper than the regular price, as well as deals on televisions, video game consoles and Star Wars toys and £650 off a Gibson electric guitar, while those in the market for fine jewellery can snap up a white gold and diamond tennis bracelet for £3,500 off the regular price of £8,995.
Because retailers know that click-and-collect customers are profitable (they spend £50 more than others, actually, according to CACI research), the smart ones are investing a lot here, so be on the lookout.
But there were no signs of the huge crowds which gathered previous year, or the scuffles which broke out as customers fought over big-ticket items. Consumers spent an estimated £810 million on Black Friday online alone.
The bulk of the Black Friday sales here are offered by online retailers like Zalora and Qoo10, with some brick-and-mortar retailers sitting out.
If you want a nice day out shopping with the family, Black Friday probably isn’t the day for you.
Will you be doing your shopping at Walmart this year? A few of the HDTVs provided at a reduction may moreover be delivered by way of Amazon’s one-day shipping service so customers can receive their sets before Thanksgiving Day.
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Use a smartphone and social media to find special Black Friday promotions and rewards.
