Black Friday in the eyes of British people

Every year, thousands of sale lovers look forward to the end of November. This is when Black Friday, the biggest shopping craze of the year, takes place. Retailers have been preparing for months to finally, on 29^th November, unveil the best promotions and discounts for their clients.

Originally, Black Friday used to be known only in the United States. However, in the last few years, the event has spread to other continents, including our country. British people have welcomed with opened arms the opportunity to participate in huge sales and make great savings.

In which part of the United Kingdom is Black Friday the most popular? What are the differences in attitudes toward sales among men and women? How much money are British people willing to spend and on which products? Where and when do British consumers shop? Picodi.com analysts look closer into the Black Friday phenomenon and answer these questions.

The king of all sales

Black Friday is not the only shopping holiday in November. Although still not as prominent in the UK, in many countries Singles’ Day is celebrated on November 11^th. Named after the multiple “one” numbers in the date, representing people who are single, Singles’ Day originated in China. The high discounts offered on that day attract huge crowds, especially in Asia.

The survey conducted by Picodi.com shows that Black Friday clearly rules in the UK. Among respondents who took part in one of November shopping holidays, 73 per cent participated in Black Friday sales. 23 per cent took advantage of both Black Friday and Singles’ Day. Merely 4 per cent answered that they took part in Singles’ Day only.

Shopping boom in British cities

Although Black Friday is celebrated throughout the UK, in some cities people anticipate it more than in others. With the internal data from Picodi.com, we found cities where an increase of visits in online stores was the largest (compared to an ordinary Friday).

The biggest increase of interest in Black Friday sales was noted among citizens of Manchester. Black Friday has also gained significant popularity among residents of Leeds, who took the second place. Surprisingly, London landed in third place, followed by Glasgow and Liverpool.

Male versus female shoppers

Black Friday sales are popular among both male and female citizens of the UK. As much as 67 per cent of female respondents are going to take part in Black Friday — it is 9 percentage points less than male shoppers.

Women purchase more products: 4.8 in comparison with 3.2 bought by men. Paradoxically, men spend more money than women on Black Friday. An average woman is willing to spend around £288, while an average man around £375.

The reason behind such a difference may be the fact that on Black Friday a top category of products bought by men is electronics. Other than that, both male and female shoppers chose clothing as their top purchases. What is more, women spend 83 per cent more time on shopping compared to men.

Black Friday is all about the promotions. In this case as well, men and women have separate preferences. The surveyed women choose a discount coupon or code as their favourite type of promotion. The second place takes a lower discount on an entire range of products, and a higher discount on selected products is in the third place. On the other hand, men’s favourite promotion is a higher discount on selected products. It is followed by a discount coupon and then a lower discount on an entire range of products.

No time to lose

The popularity of online shopping is rising year after year, especially because of events such as Black Friday or Singles’ Day. Half of the surveyed British people are going to shop online on Black Friday. 43 per cent decided to shop in both online and offline stores. Only 1 out of 10 British people are going to shop exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores.

One of the reasons against shopping in malls is having to wait in lines. Although now in the UK the situation is not as extreme, in some countries, special tutorials are created on how to endure the neverending queuing on Black Friday. Nevertheless, not everyone is willing to waste their time standing in line. Among British respondents, as much as 46 per cent of women and 51 per cent of men declare that they would rather give up on purchasing a product than wait in line.

Those who decide to place orders online do not have to worry about queues and can shop around-the-clock. On the British Internet, peaks of shopping activity fall at 6 and 7 PM. Consumers make purchases at home, during the commute, or even at work — 67 per cent of surveyed British people admitted that they buy while working.

With Picodi you can save not only during the Black Friday, but also throughout the year. You can combine discount codes with our cashback service to save up even more in shops such as Currys, Appliances Direct, eBuyer, Hughes and CCL. You just need to sign up to Picodi.com and activate cashback before shopping.

Methodology

The report is based on archival statistical data of the Picodi.com platform, as well as a survey conducted on behalf of Picodi.com between 9-20 October 2019.

Public Use

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