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US Black Friday shopping extravaganza takes off in the UK

Published:  28 November, 2014

Despite figures from Kantar indicating that the UK has not yet fully embraced the US shopping extravaganza that is Black Friday, this morning major retail websites like Tesco Direct have crashed due to the demand in online traffic, and there have been reports of fights breaking out amongst shoppers in stores around the country. Black Friday it appears has arrived in the UK.

Black Friday has hit the UK like a retail stormBlack Friday has hit the UK like a retail stormSource: The IndependentThe US shopping extravaganza has resulted in packed shops and websites crashing in the UK

Despite figures from Kantar indicating that the UK has not yet fully embraced the US shopping extravaganza that is Black Friday, this morning major retail websites like Tesco Direct have crashed due to the demand in online traffic, and there have been reports of fights breaking out amongst shoppers in stores around the country. Black Friday it appears has arrived in the UK.

Some wine retailers are taking part in Black Friday and offering deals online and in-store in the hope of enticing pre-Christmas shoppers to spend money.

Amazon has been at the forefront of Black Friday sales in the UK and have been pushing deals for more than four years now under the Black Friday banner.  Currently it has 395 Black Friday wine, beer and spirits deals on offer.

Laithwaite's is offering free delivery on a preselected mixed case offering of 12 bottles of red wine going for just under £80.  It also is offering deals on sets of sparkling wines as well.

Majestic is also running Black Friday deals with 335 off all New Zealand and Rioja wines, with a mix and match of two  wines with free delivery with a six bottle minimum purchase.

Barrica Wines, an independent wine retailer in Lancashire, is also doing a Black Friday sale on Cattani wines.  The offer is six bottles for a mix and match case for £50.

The US shopping extravaganza following Thanksgiving has now taken off in the UKGuardian.co.uk

Berry Brothers and Rudd is also hopping on the Black Friday wagon and offering deals like 20% off on Champagne and 25% off selected wines through this weekend only.

All this activity follows a Kantar UK Insights report released earlier this week that found 26.3% of people polled said they would be looking for Black Friday deals online, while only 4.7% of people would be looking for deals in-store. However, a majority of shoppers, 55.7% of people polled, would not be shopping for Black Friday deals and 17.4% of Brits polled don't even know what Black Friday is.

Kantar UK Black Friday Insights show that one in four Brits plan on shopping for a deal during Black Friday sales in the UKKantar UK InsightsSource: Lightspeed GMI online poll had 3,557 respondents and was completed online on 20th November 2014.Kantar UK Black Friday Insights show that one in four Brits plan on shopping for a deal during Black Friday sales in the UK

Euromonitor International recently reported that online shopping was a big opportunity for retailers leading up to Christmas but having a great mobile site and offering deals like free delivery are critical to making the final sale.

"Customers struggling with a bad mobile version of the website for instance will quickly give up trying to browse," said Daphne Kasriel-Alexander, a consumer trends consultant with Euromonitor International.

Having attractive delivery options for online shoppers during the festive trading period is important said Alexander. "Delivery charges have been found in several surveys to be a key reason customers abandon a purchase," she said. 

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