IMRG predicts bumper Black Friday 2018
Brits will spend £1.54 billion online during Black Friday (13.2% up on last year), according to IMRG. Its forecast for online retail sales during the 19th-26th November period, meanwhile, is £8.1 billion (12.5% up on last year).
IMRG notes that many retailers have been forced into running discounting campaigns well ahead of November, in part at least due to the tough year the sector has been experiencing. This in turn creates a domino effect where competitors of brands running wide-ranging discounting campaigns are pressured into responding by running their own flash sale.
On Black Friday 2014, stores were still very much a key element of the event. However, video footage of scuffles at a small number of retailers was widely circulated and, since then, Black Friday has become characterised as a predominantly online affair, IMRG says.
