For American retailers the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales that follow in the immediate wake of the Thanksgiving holiday are the highlight of the year. It’s estimated that around 139 million people went shopping between Thanksgiving and Sunday this year, with retail sales hitting $59bn, according to the National Retail Federation - online sales broke through the billion dollar mark for the first time this year.
Up until 2011 the phrase ‘Black Friday’ barely registered on the radar of UK retailers. However, last year US operators like Amazon and apple decided to ramp up the ante offering Black Friday deals in their local markets and as a result this year a number of UK operators decided to follow suit, many for the first time.
The grocers are never shy of getting in on the price cutting action so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to see Asda unveiling a raft of Black Friday deals last week, with a cut price promotion on the likes of TVs, cameras and push bikes- savings included £50 off a Christmas tree and £70 off a Nikon camera, with many items selling out (the retailer put a handy countdown clock on its website to remind consumers that time was running out fast on the promotion).
Not to be outdone Tesco kicked off a four-day cyber deals promotion promising savings of as much as 50% off selected items ‘while stocks last’ (to rival Asda’s offer it knocked £60 off the price of a Christmas tree).
There’s still a long way to go before we catch up with our American cousins, but there’s mounting evidence to suggest that in the not too distant future the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales could become an important regular event on the UK retail calendar.
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