John Lewis brings Black Friday forward in Xmas sales battle

JOHN Lewis has brought forward its Black Friday deals by two weeks as retailers battle for sales amid a squeeze on spending.

The move by the retail giant comes as stores fight to overcome predictions of a sharp fall in Christmas spending amid the cost of living crisis.

Many retailers are heading into Black Friday – which falls on November 25 – with excess inventory due to a summer of depressed sales. One industry estimate suggests festive spending will be down by £2.5billion, although it could be helped by purchases around the Qatar World Cup.

In the past, the Black Friday sales event – imported from America – has fallen on the last Friday in November. It was then extended to a sales weekend that went on to the following Monday.

Amazon is normally first to push the button on its Black Friday deals, but John Lewis has beaten it to the punch this year, having started its sales yesterday. Last year they began on November 19.

Meanwhile, retailers including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Lidl have launched their Christmas TV ad campaigns earlier than in previous years.

Stores are trying to grab a share of what is expected to be a limited festive budget as families tighten their belts in the face of spiralling energy and food prices. A ‘Shopping for Christmas’ report from VoucherCodes.co.uk estimates that festive spending will be down by £2.5billion compared to last year – a drop of 3 per cent.

John Lewis said the early launch of Black Friday offers is designed to help people to spread the cost of Christmas. Commercial director Kathleen Mitchell said: ‘Despite the rising cost of living, our customers still want to celebrate Christmas, so our teams have worked incredibly hard to make sure we can offer our customers great value deals.’ For example, there will be up to £400 off on selected TVs and £100 off selected Dyson vacuum cleaners.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics, said: ‘It’s inevitable that Black Friday will be a more muted affair this year.

‘Many retailers will be sitting with more stock than they would like. Some retailers could see this as an ideal opportunity to discount more than they’d anticipated, convert stock back into cash and batten down the hatches as they prepare for trading through recession next year.’

‘Inevitably more muted this year’