Online bargain rush silences high streets
SHOPPING centres appeared relatively empty yesterday as the dominance of online shopping continued to rise for the Black Friday bargain rush.
The quiet high streets came as industry figures warned that the US retail import was not necessarily the best for businesses, or consumers.
Richard Hyman, a retail industry adviser, said the concept of Black Friday was “bonkers” for UK retailers, adding: “The whole thing is smoke and mirrors.”
Mr Hyman said: “It’s encouraging people to buy at a discount when most retailers are not structured to sell at a discount. Black Friday sucks business forward from Christmas at a discounted margin, it’s really not very clever.”
This leaves businesses with few options, he added.
“Do you discount regular products that hit your margins, or do you buy in special products to mitigate that hit?”
Those special products, he added, were “bound to be inferior”.
“Most retailers, I would say, would really rather not do it if they felt they could,” he said.
Past years have seen brawls and enormous queues in Cardiff, but the streets of the capital were largely empty yesterday morning. It was a similar scene in Swansea, where it was just business as usual, despite many stores slashing their prices.
Shopping centre managers said the lack of a rush was down to retailers extending sales over several days.
Steven Madeley, general manager for St David’s Cardiff, has said: “What was once an American trend, Black Friday soon became extremely popular in the UK.
“However, over the last couple of years we’ve seen this adapt into a longer period, allowing shoppers to enjoy discounts for not just one day, but for up to a week. On the day itself we no longer see a scramble for the best deals, but considered decisions made on purchasing items.”
Lisa Hartley, centre manager for Swansea’s Quadrant shopping centre, said: “Over the past five years we have seen a significant increase in Black Friday-related promotions and opportunities for shoppers to take advantage of pre-Christmas discounts. However, this year in particular, we have seen more retailers extend their offers to a weekend, week or even a fortnight.
“This gives shoppers more time to shop and benefit from the discounts available.”
But some major retailers decided to opt out of Black Friday this year, including Marks & Spencer.
An M&S spokesman said the store was “not about ‘full-scale discounting’, but instead offering all year round great value for all our customers”.
Meanwhile, a probe by consumer group Which? found nine out of 10 Black Friday deals they investigated could be purchased for the same, or