The
idea was taken from the Black Friday sales in America and has become
huge in Britain. Stores bosses are looking at doubling the amount
made last year. Thousands of deals will be offered by the big names
on the high street, such as Argos, Curry’s and John Lewis.
Stores
are expecting tens of thousands of shoppers to start queuing outside
centers and supermarkets in the early hours of Friday to get their
share of discounted smartphones, tablets, TVs and more. It is
expected that many consumers will go online overnight and John Lewis
has made the decision to launch their deals one minute past midnight.
The
chief customer officer at Asda, Steve Smith, said the mild weather
during autumn means very few shoppers have started shopping for
Christmas and this will make Black Friday bigger than the previous
year.
Amazon
started Black Friday discounting during 2010 and other retailers on
the high street followed their example last year. However, this year
has seen all the stores getting involved.
For
many people, Black Friday coincides with the day they receive their
last pay check prior to Christmas. This means that the deals being
offered over several days will see huge amounts being spent.
Black
Friday is a huge sales tradition in the US and it is not uncommon to
witness violent scenes at sales. During 2011, a woman used pepper
spray on a Walmart, Los Angeles crowd, simply to gain access to a
Nintendo Wii, which had been reduced by 60%.
Asda
experienced this frenzy last year when fights ensued to gain access
to their 60-inch television sets which had been drastically reduced
in price. This year the group has decided to bring in 2000 extra
staff members, including security guards, and will try to operate a
queuing system. To try and avert problems, Asda has increased the
number of offers on hand and increased stock.
Retailers
have seen a decline in year-on-year sales due to the mild climate
during autumn, and so are placing their hopes on Black Friday to
boost their annual sales figures.
