Shoppers are set to splurge on what could be the biggest Black Friday yet, experts say.
But they have been warned to expect less generous discounts and shortages of some products in this year’s sale.
Analysts PWC predict £8.7bn will be spent – up from £7.8bn in 2019 and about twice as much as last year when the UK was in lockdown.
Yet some big brands are shunning the sale, and questions have been raised about the quality of the deals offered.
Black Friday, which began in the US, sees retailers slash prices to entice shoppers ahead of the Christmas period.
It’s officially on Friday 26 November but retailers’ campaigns span the whole month and started earlier than ever this year, with some in October.
PWC predicts about 60% of adults in the UK will make purchases, spending an average of £280 each.
But Linda Ellett, head of consumer markets at analysts KPMG, said deals were likely to be worse this year as retailers struggled with global supply issues linked to the pandemic, and shortages of HGV drivers and warehouse staff.
“As rising costs start to bite hard into margins and supply chain issues impact the availability of goods, it leaves very little room for the mega discounting events we have seen in previous years.”
There are concerns some retailers will not be able to meet demand on the day due to staffing issues, leading to long waits for orders to be processed and delivered.
But analysts say most brands have spent months preparing for the sale and will have enough stock – although shoppers won’t always get their first choice of product.
John Lewis told the BBC: “We’ve worked closely with our suppliers and we are confident we’ve got an extensive range of deals across a wide range of categories that represent great value for our customers.”
AO World, which has hired 500 extra drivers ahead of the day, said: “Like all electrical retailers, we are currently unable to get all the stock we need in categories like gaming to meet customer demand largely because of global microchip shortages.
