The unprecedented winter World Cup is expected to add £269m to this year’s Black Friday spending, though the cost-of-living crisis will lessen overall participation in the Sales event.
Retail sales across this year’s Black Friday are being tipped to reach £1.7bn, boosted by an extra £269m related to the World Cup due to start on November 20.
In a continuation of trends seen across previous Black Friday events, two-thirds, or £1.2bn, of total sales are expected to be made online rather than in-store, according to data from Retail Economics and HotUKDeals.
While the sales boost from the World Cup will be welcomed by retailers, the data paints an overall more nuanced and complicated picture. The ongoing inflationary environment and cost-of-living crisis mean just 18% of consumers are planning to take part in the event, compared with some 20% the previous year.
A net 14% of consumers said they would be cutting back spending over Black Friday, with inflation expected to peak in the UK in the final quarter of the year heading into Christmas.
These numbers diverge, however, between more and less affluent households. Retail Economics chief executive Richard Lim said more affluent households will be using the coming Black Friday period to spread out their Christmas spending, while less affluent customers will be cutting back or abstaining entirely.
In terms of demographics, the data found that millennials will be leading the charge, followed by Gen Z and then Gen X consumers.
By category, more than 48% of respondents said they will be purchasing electricals over the period, with clothing and footwear (40%) and toys and games (26%) the second and third most popular categories.
- Don’t miss the best of the week – sign up to receive the Editor’s Choice every Friday
No comments yet