Tugba Sabanoglu
Research lead covering Non-food CG & Retail
Black Friday in the United Kingdom (UK) - Statistics and Facts
Black Friday, which started as an American tradition, has become one of the biggest dates in the retail calendar, with retailers hoping to benefit from increased traffic and consumers hunting for a bargain. Black Friday takes place in the fourth week of November, the day after Thanksgiving, which means it falls on November 29th in 2024, although, special deals are spread across the entire weekend (also known as Black or Cyber Weekend) and Monday (Cyber Monday).
As preparations for the November shopping events grow each year, consumers find new and innovative ways to buy Christmas gifts in time. One such method is the increasing usage of generative AI, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, among British consumers. Of those planning to use GenAI during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles’ Day, most shoppers will be searching for the best deals on products.
Enthusiasm for Black Friday
Black Friday is a tradition that consumers have warmly embraced in the United Kingdom, with almost all consumers knowing at least a little about the event. This knowledge translates into action as, in a 2024 survey, almost two-thirds of respondents said that they would definitely or probably shop during the November sales events. In the UK, the timing of Black Friday has most relevance for its proximity to Christmas, offering consumers the chance to save money on their Christmas gifts.Online sales hold onto the lead
Overall, Black Friday weekend sales in the UK were forecast to increase significantly in comparison to the previous year, by about half a billion, setting a new record for the November sales events. While online sales increased by a hair, they were still estimated to be worth more than in-store sales. The leading categories consumers were planning to buy over Black Friday weekend 2024 were electricals, clothing and footwear, and toys. To tempt consumers into purchasing these items, the type of deals and discounts that they would most like were straightforward percentage discounts on everything, according to a 2024 survey. This was overwhelmingly the most popular choice, named by almost two-thirds of respondents. Deals with reduced or even free shipping came second, and steep discounts on selected items made up the top three.As preparations for the November shopping events grow each year, consumers find new and innovative ways to buy Christmas gifts in time. One such method is the increasing usage of generative AI, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, among British consumers. Of those planning to use GenAI during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles’ Day, most shoppers will be searching for the best deals on products.
