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'Less deep' Black Friday discounts this November did not prevented consumers from turning up in droves to scout the best deals ahead of Christmas.
Footfall across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres on Friday (29 November) was up 4.8% on Black Friday in 2023, according to data gathered from retail technology solutions provider Sensormatic, driven by a 8.3% year-on-year rise in retail park footfall and a 6.3% increase in shopping centre traffic on 2023. By contrast, high street footfall declined 0.9% year on year.
All three physical destination types analysed by Sensormatic saw an increase in footfall compared to the previous week’s Friday (22 November). Shopping centres saw the greatest upward change with a 62.9% increase on the previous Friday, followed by a 39.6% week-on-week rise in high street footfall and a 26.4% growth in retail park footfall.
Dune London founder Daniel Rubin told Drapers that Black Friday “proved to be very strong”, due to “a lot of pent up demand” for purchases.
“The fact that [Black Friday] fell on payday helped as well,” he added
The timing of the annual shopping event coincided with the month-end payday for employees of companies which transfer salaries on the last working day of the month, as well as the last Friday of the month. It was also the latest that Black Friday has fallen in November since 2019.
However, Black Friday discounting did not discourage consumers from shopping full-price, said Rubin:
“We discounted, but fortunately not too deeply [between 20% and 50% off on selected footwear and accessories].
“We didn’t discount some of our best-selling boots and they sold extremely well. If you have the right product, then the demand still seems to be there, whether you discount or not,” he added.
This was echoed by Superdry CEO Julian Dunkerton, who told Drapers that the fashion retailer “sold far more full-price products than last year”.
One executive of a high street footwear retailer described this year’s Black Friday as “extremely strong digitally”, delivering a rare boost in online sales amid the post-pandemic return to brick-and-mortar retail.
“You would have thought that Black Friday is an in-store event, but for us, it was actually much stronger online than in stores.
“But we got the volumes that we wanted,” he said.
Etailer Asos recorded its best conversion rate for Black Friday of more than 9%, chief of staff and strategy Michelle Wilson told Drapers.
“Black Friday started strong and has gone really well. We have had good performance across the board, especially sportswear,” she said, adding that the Adidas Samba OG trainers in white were Asos’s best-selling product by revenue on Black Friday.
Patrick Bourke, owner of the eponymous Irish menswear retailer Patrick Bourke, which has two stores in Ennis and Kilrush in County Clare, and stocks brands including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Clarks and Diesel, reported year-on-year growth in average spend and basket size.
Bourke opened his store at 7am on Black Friday morning, offering a 30% early-bird discount for the first two hours of trading, before switching to 20% off at 9am for the remainder of the day.
“We didn’t see many single-item purchases. One customer spent around €2,200 (£1,824), but excluding him, the average [basket value] has been around €180 (£149), with sales on the day up by 12% on last year's Black Friday,” he added.
Following the Black Friday spending extravaganza, consumers are likely to stave off purchases for the remainder of the year.
“There might be a quiet period from now until when [end-of-season] Sale starts [usually in early January],” he told Drapers.
Maria Srivastava, chief impact officer at clothing brand Pangaia, said: ''Black Friday for [us] is always a philanthropy-focused initiative, aligned with our core principle of giving back more than we take. For the second year running, we ran a campaign in partnership with inspiring organisations such as Choose Love, Bee the Change, Coral Gardeners, and Tomorrow Tree, encouraging nearly 1,500 donations to causes supporting biodiversity, ocean health and people.”
“In terms of products, it is not a surprise that our signature 365 Hoodies and Track Pant sets were our most popular offerings, as well as our recycled knitwear sets. It has been exciting to see strong engagement both online and in-store, demonstrating that giving back resonates deeply with our community.’'
English (US) ·