Black Friday sales fail to raise total retail spend
Retailer’s hopes of a Black Friday spending bonanza have been dashed by a new survey conducted by Visa Europe which shows no rise in consumers’ total spending despite making media headlines.
Rather than boost total spend steep discounts offered in 28 November merely brought forward spending from December with overall sales rising 2.1 per cent in November but just 1 per cent in December.
When viewed on a month-on-month basis however spending gained 1.7 per cent in November but actually fell 2.8 per cent in December. Amongst this year’s ‘winners’ were the hotel, restaurant and bar sector which enjoyed 7.2 per cent growth in December versus a year earlier.
Both recreation and culture and clothing and footwear fared less well however, dropping 3.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Visa’sUK & Ireland head Kevin Jenkins said: “The impact of Black Friday in shifting forward Christmas spending is evident. This meant that December saw a modest year-on-year rise compared to November… though evidence does suggest that there was a late spending surge in the days just before and after Christmas.”
Visa accounts for a third of all payment transactions in the UK.