Yahoo Finance Black Friday sales: Brits to spend £6.5bn this year
Brits are expected to spend nearly a quarter less in Black Friday in 2020, research suggests.
Almost half (47%) the population intend to shop over this period, with the average shopper spending about £289.11, according survey of 2,002 UK adults by TopCashback.
This puts spending over the Black Friday period at about £6.58bn – a 23% decrease from 2019, when £8.57bn was spent.
With shops having shut their doors again, it's unsurprising that signs point to an increase in online shopping this year ahead of the festive season.
Despite the projected decline in sales, over a third (37%) of shoppers said they are more inclined to shop over Black Friday this year because of COVID-19.
On average, they are expecting to buy over a quarter (28%) of their Christmas shopping in the Black Friday sales this year.
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But four in 10 said they are more reliant on deals this year for Christmas, than they have ever been before.
With Black Friday sales being longer – many have already begun – than in previous years, and retailers announcing new offers daily, Brits are clearly hungry for discounts.
Although the forecast spend has dropped compared to 2019, almost three-quarters of Brits (73%) have been scouring the net for bargains since 28 October.
Even with weeks to go until the day itself, TopCashback saw a jump in traffic to its site between 4 October and day one of the second national lockdown on Thursday 5 November
Transactions increased by 7% by the day and saw an 11% increase year-on-year.
The electricals category was one of the most clicked – and had the biggest year-on-year increase – as the country returned to lockdown, and edges closer to Black Friday, the data shows.
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Brits said the things they are looking to buy are cothes and shoes (12%)< smart phones (11%), smaller electronic items (10%), laptops (9%) and TVs (8%).
Shoppers said they have been waiting about four months for their purchase, holding out for the most tempting offer before parting ways with their cash.
However, this is no guarantee they will go through with their purchase. The minimum discount shoppers are looking for is about 28%, with confirmed Black Friday deal hunters expecting savings of about £184.11 overall.
Free delivery (44%), a free extra item (37%) and getting cashback on a purchase (29%) are the top three extras that can sweeten a deal, the survey found.
WATCH: How to get the best deals on Black Friday
