As a tumultuous year for retail draws to an end, the next five weeks are arguably the most important for UK retailers. With consumer confidence remaining unsettled, many retailers are reportedly hopeful that the upcoming Black Friday sales will give them the boost they need to meet their targets.
However, consumers are increasingly savvy about online deals, with a recent survey from Loopme finding that just 14 per cent of UK consumers plan to shop through Black Friday and Boxing Day sales. So should Black Friday still be a priority for retailers?
Yes, Black Friday is a critical sales event – but it’s about more than discounts
Economic pressures influence how and when people shop, especially this time of the year. Last year, more than half (52 per cent) of shoppers said cost-of-living concerns increased their reliance on holiday promotions – contributing to a seven per cent increase in total UK Black Friday sales between 2022 and 2023.
Nowadays, Black Friday sales are no longer limited to a single day or weekend. From Asda to Lego, brands, and retailers run promotions from early November through late December – making “Black Friday” sales extremely relevant for ensuring a healthy Q4.
Not only do extended sales periods give shoppers more time to find the best deal that fits within their budget, they also give retailers more time to adapt to higher order volumes – mitigating the eCommerce delivery delays and customer service calls that shorter sales events create.
However, leading retailers understand it takes more than Black Friday discounts to drive ongoing lifetime value. They understand that the combination of a great deal and a great customer experience has the biggest impact. They know that details like delivery tracking, notifications, accurate delivery times, and easy returns, are parts of the customer experience that make shoppers’ lives easier amidst the holiday frenzy.
Black Friday is still critical to getting customers “through the door”, but the overall ecommerce experience is what makes retailers stand out – ultimately turning first-time buyers into year-round shoppers.
No, retailers should focus on longer term strategies to give consumers year-round savings
As Black Friday approaches, the question for retailers shouldn’t be whether to participate but rather if the effort delivers sustainable value. Black Friday by its nature creates a revenue bump, but it’s often fleeting, leaving brands scrambling to maintain momentum. While this sale event once captured consumers’ attention, many now see through the hype, opting instead for meaningful savings they rely on year-round.
Retailers that build loyalty by understanding and serving their customers’ needs every day stand to gain more in the long run. Offering discounts to customers when they actually need them – not just when the calendar says it’s time for a sale – cultivates trust and repeat business. One-off events like Black Friday, on the other hand, demand a huge operational lift with limited staying power. These short-term gains can at times cause long-term strains, particularly when they fail to convert bargain hunters into loyal customers.
Brands like Amazon demonstrate the strength of a strategy based on consistent, competitive pricing. Their success shows that retailers can, and should, create year-round value rather than relying on flash sales. By offering customers predictable, fair pricing throughout the year, retailers build genuine relationships that foster loyalty beyond a single day’s sale. With consumer expectations evolving, retailers should shift resources toward long-term strategies that create lasting revenue and a stronger foundation, far beyond the brief rush of Black Friday.
Troy Townsend, co founder and CEO at Zitcha
The Verdict: It depends on your brand
Black Friday is often lambasted by anti-over consumption crusaders for having no history, the implication being that it is a non-event created by businesses to wangle extra wonga out of unsuspecting sheeple desperate for an air fryer (or not desperate, but at that price, they’re sure as hell gonna buy it anyway).
But, dear reader, like other shop-til-you-drop holiday calendar events (Christians’ Christmas, China’s ‘Singles Day’, and the like) it has a history, even if it’s not quite as many millennia old as the tale of Jesus of Nazareth, dating back to the 1950s, when police in Philadelphia conjured up the term to badmouth hordes of Yanks that came to town to make it rain the day after Thanksgiving. After a failed attempt to rebrand as ‘Big Friday’, businesses took a deep breath and reclaimed the phrase. Nowadays, Black Friday’s tenebrific power is such that it often pulls in quite a few other days into its dark vortex (see: Cyber Monday).
Tossing this erudite history aside, the disagreement between our two contestants boils down to whether short-term sales benefit business over those that spread their ‘offers’ out over the year. The truth is that it will depend on what sort of product your brand is offering, and what your brand’s image is. High-end outfits may devalue their products by participating in sales. Low-end ones less so.
The buzziness of Black Friday can be exciting, but it’s true that combining hyped-up sales with “long-term value” is vital in the long run. A business cannot survive on Black Friday hysteria alone.