Indies divided over Black Friday discounting

“We are absolutely doing Black Friday sales this year,” said Tiffany Moore, owner of Renes Fashion, a designer womenswear shop in Lancaster. “We try to do it [a sale] because we feel that we should be complying. Basically, we feel that we miss out if we don’t do it.”

Black Friday, always falls a day after the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and this year, Renes Fashion will offer a smaller discount than it has in previous years. Instead, customers will be able to accumulate loyalty points, which they may choose to redeem in-store during Black Friday or at a later date. A percentage discount will still be applied, though the exact amount has yet to be decided.

Moore said that Renes Fashion's sales will run on Black Friday, the Saturday and Cyber Monday for selected items.

“Of course you have Christmas coming up and then ultimately the sales will be coming up again so we try to partake but more lowkey.”

If a customer has their eye on something in a local shop and it goes on sale, they are likely to come into the shop and purchase it, she said.

In fact, during last year’s Black Friday sales, 44% of consumers purchased a Black Friday deal in-store, market research company Mintel reported in 2023.

Spoiled Life, a lifestyle shop in St Andrews, will set up an event night on 9 November called “Afterhours”, where clients will have the opportunity to get 20% off the whole shop for that night only, said store manager Emma Findley.

She said: “It’s an event night we tend to do at the end of each season where we have a discount in the store, live music – this time we’ve got a DJ playing – and then we have some bubbly and some nibbles as well.”

For businesses such as ClobR, a boutique in Petersfield that focuses on women’s clothing, the current state of the economy including the budget and weather conditions (with the weather still being warm) are what drove the decision to partake in Black Friday sales this year.

Earlier this week, the Autumn Budget announced that the business rates relief will decrease from 75% to 40%, with a cap of £110,000, starting in April 2025.

ClobR’s owner Rona McTavish said: “Normally we do discounts in July and January but we also did a promotion about a month ago for a weekend and then we are doing the Black Friday one. We don’t normally do one but because the high street is the way it is at the moment we are trying Black Friday.”

Other independent retailers remain adamant in opting out of Black Friday discounts and only offering discounts twice a year, in July and January.

London-based luxury lingerie shop Maison SL has never participated in Black Friday sales as the concept does not align with its operation.

Owner Susana Lorena said: “We know exactly what the clients want and our collections are very small so they come and go. We don’t have the need to get rid of stock.”

Similarly, Westdaw Menswear, a shop located in Dorking that sells a range of menswear brands including Hackett, Lacoste and Barbour International, reports that Black Friday sales do not fit with the business model.

Ian Lockett, owner at Westdaw Menswear said: “A lot of the big boys do it, but as an independent we buy our stock six months in advance, we’ve only got a few of each item and really want Black Friday out the way.

“We are far more keen to sell at full price, why lose your margin? It seems like a bit of a strange thing to do. Especially for our sort of premium level in the market.”

The decision not to discount apart from July and January has not affected their business, said Lockett. On the contrary, last year it experienced its best year ever and this year is projecting to finish about 10% up.

Meanwhile, The Go-To, an independent online shopping platform for curated gifts, has chosen not to hold any sales throughout the year for two key reasons.

Owner Victoire Tardy-Joubert said: “I think it [Black Friday] just doesn’t work with the ethos of the brand, which is really to be there for year-round gifting opportunities, as opposed to just making a lot of noise around one seasonal calendar.”

The second reason is associated with the brand’s message around the concept of gifting.

 “Gifting should never be about the deal, it’s about the thoughtfulness and everything that goes into it, it should be a fun process to find someone a present and I think the price shouldn’t influence that because it’s one of the most satisfying feelings, finding something for someone that you can’t wait to get for them,” said Tardy-Joubert.

The Go-To offers a 10% welcoming gift as a way of introducing new clients to its platform.