In-store chaos prompts increased online spending

Friday, November 4, 2016 - 09:35 by Simon Crisp

While Black Friday is typically reported in the media with scenes of packed stores filled with people scrambling to grab the last unit of a heavily discounted product line, it is expectations of this often unpleasant experience which will drive more consumers to carry out safe shopping online rather than braving the high street this year.

This is according to a new survey from Periscope, in which people from the UK and the US were asked about their feelings on Black Friday and their shopping intentions in the run up to the festive season.

Forty two per cent of the Brits questioned said that they saw Black Friday as little more than a promotional push by retailers to drum up sales well ahead of Christmas. Meanwhile, American consumers were a little less cynical, with 29 per cent holding a similarly low opinion of the event.

In the UK, 48 per cent of respondents said that they were not intending to make any purchases during Black Friday 2016. And of the proportion which will be participating, just four per cent said that they will actually be heading to bricks and mortar outlets to check out the deals.

Forty two per cent said that they will make use of sites offering safe shopping online to gain access to the deals that are available on Black Friday this year, a slightly higher proportion than seen in the US and a testament to the web-savviness of consumers in the UK.

Many said that they were dissuaded from visiting the high street because of the chaos that was likely to occur on Black Friday. Also the convenience of online shopping makes it much more appealing to stay at home and save money, rather than visiting overcrowded shops where there is no guarantee of getting hold of sought-after items.