Despite four in 10 Brits writing off Black Friday as an American gimmick, 24 million Brits intend to hit the sales this weekend. More than 3 million – or 15 percent of Black Friday shoppers – expect to spend money they don’t have. Contributor James Brown, Director – Protect Your Bubble.
Only a quarter (25 percent) of shoppers are excited about this weekend’s sales, with a further 40 percent agreeing the event is overrated. Retail insight: The top items on shoppers’ wish lists are clothes (52 percent), toys (31 percent) and laptops (27 percent)
Despite the fact that four in 10 Brits (40 percent) consider Black Friday to be an American gimmick, almost 24 million shoppers plan on hitting the sales this weekend, according to new research from gadget insurer Protect Your Bubble.
Worryingly, more than 3.6 million Brits risk getting themselves into debt, as 15 percent of Black Friday shoppers say they expect to spend money they don’t have in the sales.
However, it appears that many consumers have written the event off, with 40 percent agreeing that Black Friday is ‘overrated’, while just a quarter (25 percent) noted that they are excited about sale shopping over the weekend. This goes some way towards explaining why more than half (52 percent) of Brits do not plan on participating in the Black Friday sales this year.
The most popular item on shoppers’ wish lists this Black Friday is clothing (52 percent), followed by toys (31 percent) and laptops (27 percent).
Item |
percent of shoppers that plan on buying this |
Clothes |
51.5 percent |
Toys |
30.8 percent |
Laptops |
26.8 percent |
Cosmetics |
25.1 percent |
Mobile Phones |
23.5 percent |
Games Consoles |
23.5 percent |
Jewellery |
18.7 percent |
Other |
13.3 percent |
Camera |
11.8 percent |
PC |
10.5 percent |
James Brown, director at gadget insurer Protect Your Bubble, says: “We all know how tempting flash sales can be and the vast majority of us will have made an impulse purchase or two that we’ve come to regret. “However, it’s worrying to see that so many Brits plan on diving straight into this weekend’s sales despite knowing they can’t afford to do so.
“If you’re thinking about hitting the sales this weekend, write yourself a shopping list before you start to avoid buying anything you don’t need. You should also think about setting yourself a budget for specific items in advance to avoid digging yourself into unnecessary debt.
“There’s nothing worse than finding a better deal elsewhere after you’ve already made a purchase, so make sure you compare costs before parting ways with your hard-earned cash, and make sure you’re clued up on retailers’ refunds policies if you anticipate returning any purchases.”
