// Barclaycard Payments reported that transaction numbers edged up 3.2% year on year as of 5pm
// Footfall to retail stores jumped 4.6%, while home delivery demand was down
Black Friday has been “encouraging” for retailers as shoppers have defied the cost-of-living crisis to snap up deals.
Barclaycard Payments said that as of 5pm the volume of transactions edged up 3.2% versus last year.
Marc Pettican, the head of Barclaycard Payments, which processes around £1 of every £3 spent on debit and credit cards in the UK, said: “This is encouraging news for retailers who will have been unsure about the outcome of today, given the rising cost-of-living.”
Nationwide said that its customers had made 8% more purchases by 2pm than last Black Friday and a third more than in 2020. Director of payment strategy Mark Nalder claimed today would be the busiest shopping day of the year.
The high street looks set to be the main beneficiary of Black Friday as shoppers shunned online to buy in retail stores.
Footfall across all retail destinations was up 9.2% on last year, and 12.4% than last Friday, according to Springboard.
Shopping centres and large city centres were the most popular destinations, with visitor numbers up 6.2%, and 13.9% respectively, against last Friday’s figures.
Whilst footfall rose from last week and last year, Springboard pointed out that it was still -19.1% lower than on Black Friday in 2019.
By contrast, demand for home deliveries was down 5% year on year, according to the delivery technology group Metapack.
Footfall in central London rose 20.8% year on year or up 7,9% on last week.
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Not a disaster
Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “The footfall data demonstrates that whilst trading conditions are challenging Black Friday is certainly not a disaster. We are also expecting footfall to strengthen this afternoon as those consumers who are working from home go shopping after lunch.
“The dry and sunny weather will also help drive up activity, as will the UK vs USA World Cup match this evening as shoppers may well head into towns and cities and do some shopping and then watch the match from bars in town centres.”
John Lewis said its Black Friday had got off to “a flying start”.
The department store, which has 5,000 Black Friday offers for customers, said shoppers had ordered 5.5 products every second today and that footfall was “really building” in its shops throughout the morning.
Its top sellers today have been Apple Airpods, iPads, gaming, TVs and Hotel Chocolat advent calendars.
John Lewis said that fashion was also experiencing “strong growth” with coats particuarly robust.
Shoppers were also snapping up Christmas products with sales of crackers rocketing 154%, pre-lit trees surging 39% and wreaths and garlands up 48%.
Boots had more than three orders every second on its website. The bumper day came after the health and beauty retailer’s warehouse dispatched more products on the Thursday than any other day this year.
The retailer, which is offering its biggest Black Friday ever with more than 18,000 promotions, said that its best sellers had been the Benefit Star Gift set, its No7 Ultimate Beauty Calendar, and No7 Beauty Collection, all of which had substantial discounts.
A Boots spokesperson said deals would be crucial this Christmas so it expected Black Friday to be a bumper event.
The spokesperson said: “We know that customers are shopping for Christmas, particular through deals and promotions, so we expect them to be looking for great value this Black Friday.
“Promotions and offers are more important than ever this year, and our Star Gift offers – that include customer favourite gift sets reduced to better than half price – are selling particularly well and up on last year.”
In a sign that the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on Black Friday shopping, Currys chief commercial officer Ed Connolly said more people were buying on credit this year.
He also told BBC’s Today programme:”I think you can draw from that that customers are worried about their finances and more concerned perhaps about their future finances than they were this time last year.”
Connolly also said Curry’s had seen sales soar for energy-efficiency cooking appliances with air fryers, microwaves and heatpump tumble dryers in demand.
VoucherCodes.co.uk has forecast a 0.8% year-on-year increase in retail spend over Black Friday Weekend this year to £8.71bn.
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