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Bricks and mortar booksellers will draw customers into stores to rival the online sales push for Black Friday deals tomorrow (28th November).
The retail promotion day, which originated in the US when shops began offering customers heavy discounts on products following Thanksgiving, has been growing in the UK over the last four years and 47% of shoppers are expected to make Christmas purchases tomorrow, according to a survey conducted by retail market research company Verdict.
The event also coincides with the day when many workers receive their monthly pay cheques in the UK, and now analysts believe the event is set to be a firm fixture in the British retail calendar going forward.
Amazon, which has led the way among UK retailers for emphasis on Black Friday, kicked off a whole week of promotions on Monday, running until 30th November, with new deals every 10 minutes. In books, many if the “lightning deals” involve bundling of titles, with discounts ranging from 50-60% off, for example Etape: The Untold Stories of The Tour de France’s defining stages by Richard Moore (HarperSport) was selling at 55% off for £9.00 and The Office For Dummies 2013 paperback collection at 58% off for £7.50 yesterday.
Bricks and mortar retailers have also planned ways to lure customers into stores around the Black Friday/Christmas payday period.
Foyles is having a "Christmas Comes Early" weekend on Friday 28th to Sunday 30th November, which the bookseller says is when “many people begin their Christmas shopping in earnest.” During this weekend, all Foyalty Card holders will receive 20% discount off instore purchases and online shoppers will receive double Foyalty points on purchases through the Foyles website. Foyles is also set to hold a series of late night Christmas shopping evenings throughout December in its Charing Cross Road, Westfield Stratford, Westfield White City and the Southbank Centre stores, offering customers mulled wine with mince pies while they browse.
Waterstones held a Christmas Shopping Bonanza event to draw customers into its flagship Piccadilly branch last night (25th November), attended by 36 authors. Meanwhile the company began a half price on a selection of books promotion at the beginning of this week, which coincided with Amazon’s Black Friday deals launch.
In response to a question about whether it was running the promotion in response to Black Friday, the bookseller said: “Our focus will always be our customers and we tailor our selection to create the best possible offer for our market. This will usually be a mix of buy one get half price and money off offers and also includes a selection of half price on titles where it is appropriate. We are running a half price offer on a selection of titles this week, to create a competitive offer for our customers, just as we have done last year and throughout this autumn.”
In the US, chain bookseller Barnes & Noble is planning to offer the “largest-of-its-kind” signed edition book collection available only in its stores for customers on Friday. The bookseller will offer 500,000 signed editions from more than 100 authors, with a selection of 100 being available in every Barnes & Noble store. The signed copies will include titles from authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Amy Poehler, Donna Tartt, George W Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jeff Kinney and more. It is also offering customers 50% off James Patterson’s newest release Hope to Die and buy one get one half price on collectible classic editions.
Blackwell’s, however, launched its Christmas promotion push at the beginning of November, offering customers a selection of books for half price.
A survey of 10,000 UK shoppers by retail market research company Verdict found that Black Friday better appeals to younger shoppers, with 56% of 15-24 year olds planning to take advantage of offers tomorrow, with this figure rising to 59% for 25-34 year olds. In contrast, mature shoppers over 65 are notably less interested in the retail event with just 28% of shoppers likely to make a purchase. The poll also suggested that 25% of people plan to buy Christmas presents earlier this year then last year.
Verdict retail analyst Kate Ormrod said: “While many consumers have previously held out for deeper discounts in the run up to Christmas, this year they are more confident than ever that discounts will come through earlier, such as those on Black Friday, resulting in spend being brought forward.”
Meanwhile retail analyst Professor Chris Edger from Birmingham City Business School warned that the Black Friday promotion “sucked all the margin out of November trading” and could have “grave consequences for profitability” for some retailers.
“The customer obviously benefits from Black Friday, with January sales-type pricing allowing them to ‘fill their boots’ and gorge on super-cheap pricing (particularly with regards to electrical and white goods) but not the same can be said for the retailers,” Prof Edger said.“In fact Black Friday becomes a defence mechanism for many retailers. Aside from a handful who benefit from first mover advantage - where the first few retailers take share from their competitors, shoring up margin decreases with increased volumes – when everyone steps in to ‘get a piece of the action’, it turns from being an expansionary into a defensive exercise for many.”