Record breaking Black Friday UK on the cards

British shoppers are set to spend a record breaking £8.57 billion this Black Friday weekend.

Research, commissioned by VoucherCodes.co.uk and carried out by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), predicts that the UK will splash out £2.53 billion on Black Friday (29th November) alone, a 3.4% increase on 2018.

Whilst offline sales (£4.80 billion) are anticipated to outstrip online purchases in 2019 (£3.77 billion), online sales are expected to grow by 8.3%, with in-store forecasts dropping 0.2% on last year. The UK is the only European country included within the research to show a decrease in offline purchases, although there are signs that the rest of Europe is set to follow suit.

The UK’s Black Friday spend is forecast to be the biggest in Europe – 29% higher than Germany (the second biggest spenders) and more than Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands combined. Jimmy New, Director of Marketing at VoucherCodes.co.uk, comments: “It’s clear from this year’s research that Black Friday weekend is more important than ever for UK retailers in the wake of the current economic uncertainty.”

He adds: “With increasing pressure on brands to offer the strongest discounts for longer time periods in order to secure sales, retailers need to ensure they implement well-planned discounting strategies and work closely with reliable partners to maximise the overall profits that can be. Black Friday can be a great event for brands, but promotions should be planned strategically to avoid any overspend and ensure maximum return.”