Black Friday outstrips Boxing Day, IMRG

UK online retail spend on Christmas Day will reach £844 million, a 6.3% uplift on the same day in 2016. Meanwhile, Boxing Day is forecast to exceed a billion for the first time, reaching £1.03 billion, a 7.9% increase on 2016. That would mean that Black Friday continues to outstrip Boxing Day. In 2017, IMRG recorded £1.39 billion spent online for that day – up 11.7% on 2016.

Justin Opie, MD, IMRG, says: “Boxing Day sales remain a fixture of retail and an important day in the calendar, but Black Friday has altered sales patterns over the full peak period and is now the primary discounting event of the season. And perhaps, as with Black Friday, we’re seeing Boxing Day spend become more online-focused. Although going out to the shops on that day has long been a British tradition, footfall was reportedly down 7.3% on Boxing Day last year; it’s likely that spend on Christmas Day is pulling some of that order volume forward as well, as shoppers have the ability to browse and buy from the sofa on mobile devices during quiet moments at home and visiting family, redeeming the huge numbers of gift cards and coupons that they receive in place of presents each year.”