Black Friday is losing its appeal among UK consumers, early research from PCA Predict has found.
Using an e-commerce trends tool, PCA was able to track Black Friday sales made online between midnight and 7am today.
Results showed that sales have dropped by 24% compared to 2016, although consumers are clearly still in the market for discounts.
Chris Boaz, Head of Marketing of PCA Predict, said: “As of this morning, online sales are actually down, compared to last year.
“However, last night there was a huge surge in sales as people tried to beat the morning rush to snap up the best deals. By contrast last year, many consumers shopped from midnight to 7am to bag a bargain.”
Tracking every hour, PCA found that every time slot saw sales down on the previous year, with midnight-1am down 32%, 1-2am down 29% and 2-3am down 27%.
He added: “One of the primary reasons for this is due to the extended sales in the run up to Black Friday itself, which showed an increase of 11%, meaning consumers aren’t as pressed as they once were to shop on the day.“This longer sales period has shifted the emphasis away from Black Friday being a major retail event in its own right, towards becoming part of a pre-Christmas mini season or ‘Golden Quarter’ for retailers.”
The busiest shopping region during the early hours of this morning was South East London, followed by Nottingham, East London, Kingston upon Thames and North West London.
The most popular device for Black Friday shopping is currently mobile, followed by desktops and tablets.