As Black Friday frenzy approaches once again, we take a look at the trends we can expect this year.

Online shopping continues to grow.
Avoiding the Black Friday rush by bargain-hunting online is a widespread strategy among UK shoppers. Close to half (48%) say they plan to shop online at Amazon.co.uk during the Black Friday peak shopping period, and many take the opportunity to get a head-start on Christmas shopping – more than a quarter (29%) say they plan to buy the discounted products for Christmas.*

But offline is still huge.
Almost half of UK shoppers plan to shop online at Amazon.co.uk alone, 53% of the predicted £4.75bn to be spent during this year’s Black Friday event will nevertheless be spent at bricks-and-mortar stores. However, we expect the percentage of spending that occurs online to increase over the coming years.

Buyer beware.
Not everyone is convinced by Black Friday. In fact, 53% of people surveyed were sceptical about whether certain deals were genuine and whether they represented real savings compared to the rest of the year.
And they’re right to be concerned: according to price comparison site idealo.co.uk, 9 out of 10 Black Friday products are cheaper at other times of the year.**
Idealo.co.uk reveals that last year’s most popular Black Friday purchase – the smartphone – was on average £72 cheaper on 5 August than on the day itself. And drones – one of this year’s most popular new consumer electronics – were typically £149 cheaper at the end of September.

Average spend.
The average Black Friday spend is set to come in at £90, although those aged between 25 and 34 are set to spend more, at £154. Interestingly, men are expected to spend 34% more than women.

Discount drift.
There’s already evidence of discounting well ahead of Black Friday.^ September’s ecommerce growth rate of 7.5% is the lowest since 2014, which may be caused by consumers holding off on buying things, in preparation for upcoming discounting such as Black Friday deals.

Sources:
*Consultancy Salmon surveyed 2,000 customers
** It analysed prices of 21,047 products over a 12-month period and found that only laptops were offered at genuine bargain prices.
^ IMRG-Capgemini eRetail Sales Index for September 2018

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