Black Friday could end up being a flop-day this year
Demand for bagging a bargain on Black Friday has dropped this year, as the novelty of the promotions day seems to be wearing off.
Just 21 per cent of consumers say they will take advantage of the Black Friday promotions this year, on a day intended to drum up sales as retailers slice their prices. This is down from 25 per cent who expected to make a purchase last year.
74 per cent of those surveyed by Retail Economics said they expected to spend less on Black Friday than last year, and those who said they would be parting with their cash were likely to be younger spenders, aged 18 – 24.
Read more: What is Black Friday?
This is in sharp contrast to businesses, 40 per cent of whom said they expected consumer demand to be stronger than last year. Half said they thought it would stay the same.
Just one in five shoppers said they planned to do more Black Friday shopping online this year, compared to 70 per cent of retailers who expected higher volumes on their internet stores.
The type of product most shoppers expected to purchase was electrical goods, followed by clothing and footwear, then food.
Read more: Eight ways to make the most of Black Friday
Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics, said: "Fading demand for Black Friday is not necessarily a bad thing for retailers who would rather see incremental spend spread across the whole of the Christmas season than discounted sales pulled forward at the expense of future demand.
"It also eases pressure on capacity constraints for retailers who have previously struggled with crowded stores, failing websites and poor customer experiences."