Xmas discounting starting to pick up, PwC

74% of UK High Street stores and 79% of online retailers offered some kind of sale or promotion over the Black Friday weekend, compared with 36% and 72% respectively in the first week of December 2017, according to PwC.

It also expects that, like previous years, promotional levels in the final week before Christmas will match those of the Black Friday weekend - last year, 70% of store and online retailers were on sale that final week. Its research shows that, more so than in previous years, half of store retailers with Black Friday promotions returned to full price the following week in order to preserve profit margins in the key Christmas present shopping period. By contrast, a larger proportion of online retailers remained on promotion, particularly when including sign up and free delivery offers.

“Retailers are increasingly returning to full price after Black Friday, suggesting they are getting a better handle of managing the promotion cycle in late November in order to preserve profit margins in the critical run up to Christmas. We’ve also seen many multi-channel retailers reserve discounts for online shoppers so as to keep their physical stores at full price,” says Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC.

“As we enter the second half of December, discounting is already starting to pick up, with many retailers keen to clear seasonal stock before the end of the year. With Christmas Day falling on a Tuesday this year, that leaves consumers with a full weekend to do their last minute shopping, so there may well be festive bargains for anyone holding off their shopping until then. Meanwhile, High Street retailers will be hoping for sunny weather and a welcome footfall boost after the lacklustre autumn.”