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// Barclaycard Payments reported that the number of transactions increased 3.2% year-on-year as of 5 p.m.
// Footfall to retail stores increased by 4.6%, while demand for home delivery fell
Black Friday has been “encouraging” for retailers as shoppers have braved the cost of living crisis to close deals.
Barclaycard Payments said that as of 5:00 p.m., transaction volume was up 3.2% compared to last year.
Marc Pettican, director of Barclaycard Payments, which processes around £1 out of every £3 spent on credit and debit cards in the UK, said: “This is encouraging news for retailers who won’t be sure about the outcome. today, given the rising cost of living.”
Nationwide said its customers had made 8% more purchases at 2pm than last Black Friday and a third more than in 2020. Director of payment strategy Mark Nalder said today would be the busiest shopping day of the year.
The high street appears to be the main beneficiary of Black Friday, as shoppers eschewed shopping online to shop at retail stores.
Footfall across all retail destinations was up 9.2% from last year and 12.4% from last Friday, according to Springboard.
Shopping centers and large city centers were the most popular destinations, with a 6.2% and 13.9% increase in the number of visitors, respectively, compared to last Friday’s figures.
While attendance was up from last week and last year, Springboard noted that it was still -19.1% lower than Black Friday 2019.
On the contrary, demand for home deliveries fell 5% year-on-year, according to the Metapack delivery technology group.
Footfall in central London was up 20.8% year-on-year or 7.9% higher than last week.
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it’s not a disaster
Springboard Insights Director Diane Wehrle said: “Footfall data shows that while business conditions are challenging, Black Friday is certainly not a disaster. We also expect footfall to strengthen this afternoon as work-from-home consumers shop after lunch.
“The dry and sunny weather will also help boost activity, as will the World Cup match between the UK and the US tonight, as shoppers can visit towns and cities and do some shopping and then watch the party in the bars of the centers of the cities”.
John Lewis said his Black Friday had gotten off to a “fast start”.
The big storeswhich has 5,000 Black Friday deals for customers, said shoppers had ordered 5.5 products every second today and the influx of customers was “really piling up” at its stores throughout the morning.
Its best-selling products today have been Apple Airpods, iPads, games, TVs and advent calendars from Hotel Chocolat.
John Lewis said fashion was also seeing “strong growth” with particularly robust coats.
Shoppers also snapped up holiday merchandise with sales of crackers soaring 154%, pre-lit trees 39% and wreaths and garlands 48%.
Boots had more than three orders every second on its website. The big day came after the health and beauty retailer’s warehouse shipped more products Thursday than any other day this year.
The retailer, which is offering its biggest Black Friday ever with more than 18,000 promotions, said its top sellers had been the Benefit Star Gift set, its No7 Ultimate Beauty Calendar and No7 Beauty Collection, all of which were heavily discounted.
A Boots spokesperson said deals would be crucial this Christmas, so he expected Black Friday to be a big event.
The spokesperson said: “We know customers are shopping for Christmas, particularly through sales and promotions, so we expect them to be looking for great value this Black Friday.
“Promotions and sales are more important than ever this year, and our Star Gift offers, featuring customer-favorite gift sets reduced to more than half the price, are selling particularly well and more than last year. ”.
In a sign that the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on Black Friday shopping, Currys commercial director Ed Connolly said more people were buying on credit this year.
He also told the BBC’s Today programme: “I think you can tell that customers are worried about their finances and perhaps more worried about their future finances than they were last year.”
Connolly also said Curry’s had seen sales of energy-efficient kitchen appliances skyrocket with air fryers, microwaves and heat pump dryers in demand.
Codes-Walloons.es has predicted a 0.8% year-on-year increase in retail spending over Black Friday weekend this year to £8.71 billion.
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