Bleak Friday! Malls are quiet as bargain-hunters go online
THE anticipated Black Friday spending bonanza turned into a bleak day for Britain’s beleaguered high streets as shoppers went for online bargains.
Despite reports of a small number of people queuing outside stores as early as 3am many of the nation’s busiest shopping centres were almost deserted.
Retail analysts had predicted a £3billion spending spree but warned that £2.3billion would be spent online.
Last night worried shop owners admitted online had grabbed an even bigger share of the market with major shopping outlets, supermarkets and high streets including London’s Oxford Street and Manchester’s Trafford Centre showing little footfall.
The Bullring centre in Birmingham and Trinity in Leeds were also eerily quiet with few customers.
Shoppers are believed to have been put off by constant sales by stores with Black Friday offers now running over several days in a bid to entice more trade.
Surprised
Among yesterday’s bargain hunters in Birmingham was Lina Carter, 39, from Sheldon. She said: “I’m doing normal Christmas shopping for my five kids. It’s an expensive time of the year. I’m surprised by how quiet it is. I was expecting it to be manic like last year.
“I prefer going to the shop because you don’t know what you’re getting online. It looks like the best time of the year to buy stuff because it’s basically 20 per cent off in every shop.”
Office worker Harriet Bradley, 33, from Wolverhampton, said: “I caught the train in. It was dead on the train and it’s dead in the city centre. I was really surprised but it’s brilliant. You’ve almost got a free run of all the shops and there’s some great deals to be had.
“I guess a lot of people do it online and it can get manic around here over Christmas.
“I’m trying to fit all my shopping in before its gets too busy.”
There is also a knock-on effect for other businesses.
A Leeds taxi driver said: “In 30 years this is the quietest I have ever known the city leading up to Christmas. Nobody is shopping and nobody is going out at night. I should be non-stop with Christmas parties but yesterday I didn’t even make £60 in fares.”
Yesterday’s scenes in our shops proved a far cry from 2014, the year after Asda imported the American tradition which is seen as a post-Thanksgiving celebration. Thousands of shoppers camped out overnight and dashed into stores to get their hands on hugely discounted items. Fights even broke out.
In comparison to the UK in the US, chaotic scenes unfolded in malls across the country with thousands lining up outside
Macy’s Herald Square in New York City, and nearby Best Buy store in Manhattan witnessed a similar vision of chaos.
As shoppers turned to the web, some were furious when NatWest’s online banking and mobile app went down. On what was also payday for some people, being the last Friday of the month, customers have complained about being unable to access their money.
Some also said that money they had transferred between accounts appeared to have vanished. A message posted on Twitter by NatWest said: “Our online banking, mobile app and bankline are currently facing intermittent problems.”