After a year battling with Brexit red tape, staff shortages and ongoing supply chain issues, many retailers would have been hoping for a bumper Black Friday period. However, exclusive research for Retail Week has found the majority of UK consumers are not planning on making any major, discretionary purchases this year.
Data provided to Retail Week by Walnut Unlimited has found 52% of shoppers are not planning on spending this Black Friday, compared to 48% of respondents who said they were.
Walnut Unlimited research director Becky Miles said: “Whilst the majority of consumers don’t plan to shop Black Friday, in reality, promotional nudges and comms in the build-up provide an opportunity to engage a wider audience. Loss aversion means that we hate to miss out on a bargain or potential discount”.
Of the respondents who are planning on spending this Black Friday, 49% said they would be looking to stock up on Christmas presents early, as opposed to 27% of customers who said they would be purchasing gifts for themselves.
Electricals are set to be the most popular category in Black Friday this year, with 38% of respondents planning on making a purchase in this area. Fashion and health and beauty are set to be the next most popular with 25% of respondents each. Toys (23%), homewares and furniture (17%) and sporting equipment (12%) followed.
Miles said: “Electricals and tech products top the list as shoppers seek a discount on higher ticket items – looking to save as much money as possible in the run-up to Christmas.”
Concerns around the product shortages continuing to dominate the news are making some customers bring forward their Christmas spending to Black Friday, particularly for the under-35s.
The data found that 18-to-34-year-olds are the most likely to express concern around product shortages (60% strongly/slightly agree), with older consumers less worried.
The data also showed that consumers will be looking to shop predominantly digitally this Black Friday, with 36% of respondents saying they would use this channel.
In terms of bricks-and-mortar destinations, shopping centres were the most popular (12%), with local high streets and retail parks equal on 9%, followed by city centres on 8%.
Miles added: “With the acceleration of the trend to shop online during the pandemic, it’s unsurprising that online is the primary touchpoint shoppers turn to for Black Friday deals.”
Walnut Unlimited said it expected customer spend to be broadly similar to last year with 50% of respondents saying they would look to spend the same as in previous Black Fridays. Twenty-three per cent of respondents said they would spend more, compared to 13% who would spend less.
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