Amazon launches early selection of Black Friday deals online

Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - 10:07 by Mike Price

Although Black Friday is set to land in the UK at the end of the week, e-commerce giant, Amazon, has pre-empted the emerging retail splurge by announcing a range of early discounts that are already available to consumers, according to the Daily Mail.

Analysts estimate that shoppers will spend £6,000 every second across the country over the course of Black Friday this year, with many retailers offering special discounts, both at high street outlets and via safe shopping online.

Some believe that Amazon has deliberately started discounting certain items early to outdo its bricks and mortar rivals, which certainly makes sense, given the nature of its latest announcement and the timing it has chosen.

Amazon is offering a variety of discounts, including major discounts on photography equipment, toys and jewellery. And although Black Friday has long been an American tradition, it is starting to take hold in the UK at the moment.

Last month the retail market was flat, with the mild weather having a negative impact on sales because consumers felt no need to stock up on winter items as early as usual. But with the cold weather finally here and Christmas around the corner, many outlets are hoping that things will turn around.

Amazon and other sites that allow consumers to carry out safe shopping online are always in a better position to deliver impressive prices on popular products, because they do not have to worry about the costs associated with running real world stores.

But the issue with the current sales culture is that some retailers are fighting a war of attrition, with earlier and earlier discounting leading to lower revenues, while consumers come to expect that they will get great deals well before they used to kick in over the New Year.