Brits to spend £8.71bn over Black Friday weekend bagging Christmas Bargains
- Shoppers set to spend £8.71bn Black Friday Weekend (25 – 28 Nov), a rise of 0.8% YoY
- £22.62bn expected to be spent over the two-week Black Friday period (22 Nov – 5 Dec), up 2.1% YoY
- Two-fifths of Brits expect to spend more this Black Friday Weekend than in 2021 (41%)
- Sales on Black Friday itself are expected to fall by 5.8% YoY to £3.01bn, as consumers watch the World Cup instead of spending in the evening
Black Friday Weekend spending in the UK is set to hit £8.71bn this year, as consumers hit up discounts to cut the cost of Christmas.
The VoucherCodes.co.uk Shopping for Christmas 2022: Black Friday Weekend report predicts that this year’s Black Friday Weekend sales will rise by a marginal 0.8% from £8.64bn in 2021. With several retailers set to extend their Black Friday promotions to a two-week period. The report forecasts shoppers will spend a total of £22.62bn across Black Friday Fortnight (22nd November – 5th December), a 2.1% (£463m) increase in the same period in 2021.
Experts forecast a 3% dip in consumer spending this Christmas due to the cost-of-living crisis. This Black Friday Weekend sales boost is set to come as a result of shoppers making the most of bumper discounts to stock up on Christmas goods for less. The report reveals two-fifths of shoppers plan to shop this Black Friday Weekend (39%). The same number say they’ll spend more than last Black Friday in order to get Christmas essentials such as gifts, decorations, food and drink at low prices (41%).
When shopping the sales, half of the consumers plan to snap up bargain clothing or footwear (47%), and discounted big-ticket items such as electricals are also set to be popular (44%). Unsurprisingly, popular gifting categories such as toys (37%), health and beauty (32%) and games, music and film (24%) are also set to be big sellers.
The World Cup and Black Friday
Across Black Friday Weekend, Cyber Monday (28th November) is set to be the busiest day for shoppers with £3.17bn expected to be spent, a rise of 0.3% on last year. However, Black Friday itself is set to see a decline in spending of 5.8% to £3.01bn from £3.20bn in 2021.
England’s second FIFA World Cup match against the USA takes place on the evening of Black Friday. Large numbers of people will be tuning into the match at 7 pm instead of shopping, with retailers set to miss out on valuable evening sales. As a result, shoppers are set to shift their purchases to the following Saturday and Sunday (26 -27 Nov), with forecasts of £2.53bn in retail spend – a rise of 10.4% YoY.
UK Black Friday Weekend sales. 2019 – 2021 actuals, 2022 forecast.
| Sales (£bn) | Growth (YoY %) | ||||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (Forecast) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (Forecast) | |
| Black Friday | 2.53 | 2.78 | 3.20 | 3.01 | 10.1 | 14.9 | -5.8 |
| Saturday/ Sunday | 3.00 | 2.31 | 2.29 | 2.53 | -23.2 | -0.7 | 10.4 |
| Cyber Monday | 3.04 | 2.86 | 3.15 | 3.17 | -5.8 | 10.2 | 0.3 |
| Total | 8.57 | 7.95 | 8.64 | 8.71 | -7.2 | 8.7 | 0.8 |
Anita Naik, Savings Expert at VoucherCodes.co.uk, comments: “After a tough few months of rising living costs and economic uncertainty, this Black Friday will see a shift in how people shop during Black Friday Weekend.
“As our report shows, this year, shoppers will be much more thoughtful with their spending than has been commonly associated with Black Fridays of the past. More people than ever will be making use of Black Friday to purchase the things they want for Christmas, rather than treats and luxuries, as they look forward to a sociable festive period without the worry of Covid restrictions.
If you’re one of the many people planning to shop this Black Friday, here are some top tips to make sure you get the best bargains:
- Be prepared. Before the day, make sure you get prepared by following all your favourite brands on social media and signing up for their newsletters. Not only will you hear about all the best deals first, but you might receive an exclusive bonus or early access to sales for signing up.
- Stack deals and discounts. As well as the deals on the day, you can often get bonus discount codes or rewards that you can use in combination with the Black Friday offers. VoucherCodes Rewards can be used with most discount codes so you can get a free voucher on top of your purchase. All these offers are marked ‘works with sale’ on site.
- Bookmark product pages. If you have your eye on specific products, bookmark these pages ahead of time. This way when the deals go live you can head to the page quickly and snap up your bargain.
