Retailers are going cool on Black Friday

Scenes of shoppers queuing round the block in order to fight over flat screen TVs has made us all feel rather British and snooty about the whole thing.

Indeed we have seen a muted reaction from Yorkshire retailers.

Leeds-based Asda has decided to abandon its Black Friday sale following the mayhem of previous years when fights broke out.

Asda’s CEO Andy Clarke said customers had told the grocer they would prefer lower prices in the run-up to Christmas than big discounts on just one day.

“Two years ago Black Friday was a great idea because it was new to the market. It was a great event the first year, but last year we listened to customers who said it was a pretty challenging shopping environment.

“Last year was less successful. The right thing for customers is to come away from it. Black Friday in its current guise has gone,” he said.

Arch rival Bradford-based Morrisons has decided to turn Black Friday into “Morrisons Black Five Days”, with special deals running from Monday 23 to Friday 27 November rather than just on Black Friday. Today its deals will include a wine cases of six bottles for £20.

Over 50s fashion retailer Bonmarche said customers have asked for deals to be spread over several days. The Wakefield-based firm plans to offer specific in-store deals in the run up to and after Black Friday after only doing offers online last year.

The feedback from customers was that most shop in store (93 per cent) rather than online (seven per cent) so they wanted to see in-store deals. The group is planning to offer discounts on coats, trousers and capes. Bonmarche’s chief executive Beth Butterwick said: “We’ve got deals on fashion products we know our customers want.”

One thing is sure - no-one wants a repeat of Black Friday last year with shoppers running mayhem on the day itself.

Last year one in ten us of bought Christmas presents on Black Friday, but increasingly we are choosing to treat ourselves rather than buy for others.

Research from Barclaycard shows that Black Friday is not about saving money on Christmas shopping with 62 per cent of Black Friday consumers planning to buy goods for themselves.

Unsurprisingly, consumer electronics are set to be the Black Friday winner. Nearly three in ten (29 per cent) of Black Friday shoppers plan to spend on consumer electronics with TVs, tablets and mobile phones the most sought-after items.

Barclaycard said that almost half (49 per cent) of sales shoppers plan to shop online to avoid getting caught up in fights and stampedes that they saw last year.

In Leeds, Barclaycard said 28 per cent of consumers are planning to shop on Black Friday, 50 per cent are planning to treat themselves and consumer electronics tops shopping lists, followed by clothing or jewellery.