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Black Friday Statistics

Brits plan to spend more than £4.5 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year.

Noi Rotstein

by , Insights & Marketing Executive

This year Black Friday falls on November 24, 2017. As one of the biggest shopping days in the United Kingdom, it’s sure to cause a rush with heavy discounts and one-off deals. In fact, Brits plan to spend an estimated £4.5 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases this year alone, according to our latest report.

Are people getting the best value for their money by spending during sale time?

Sales regret

Over 1 in 4 (26.8%) of Brits have purchased something on a sale that they have later regretted, spending an estimated average of £245.8 each on these items. That totals to over £2.7 billion!

Type of purchases

The most regretted type of item purchased during the sales was clothing/accessories, with 29.2% of these regretful purchases falling into this category. Technology/electronics came in second at 25.8%, followed by household items at 11.4%. An average of £97.02 was spent on clothing/accessories, £293.17 on technology/electronics and £132.93 on household items per purchase. Other types of purchases include music (8.6%), shoes (6.2%), food/drink (5.9%), cosmetics and fragrances (5.3%) and literature (3.0%).

Gender
An estimate of just over 1 in 4 men (27.3%) have admitted to regretting an item they’ve purchased on sale, slightly more than women, who sit at 26.4%. The average spend on these items sits at £309.1 for men and £185.8 for women.

Generation
Millennials are the most likely to be purchasing items on sale that they later regret. Just under half (49.5%) have admitted to making such purchases, spending an average of £328.05 each. Gen X follow, with 28.9% of them doing so and spending an average of £280.09. Nearly 1 in 5 (18.0%) of Baby Boomers have felt post-purchase regret, spending an average of £125.97, making them the least likely generation to feel regret after buying a sale item.

Region
Those residing in London are the most likely to have experienced sales regret, sitting at nearly half of them (47.3%). Scotland is next in line at just under 1 in 3 (30.5%), followed by those residing in the South East at (26.3%).

When it comes to the cost of these regretted sale purchases, Scotland has the highest at £444.88 each! Londoners closely follow at £421.80 and the North East at £317.11.

How long do we hold off buying?

With so many discounts just around the corner, it’s common to hold off spending in the lead-up to massive sales. In fact, an estimated 14.8 million Brits (35.7%) have deferred dropping pounds on clothing, electronics, major appliances and furniture until the release of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Better safe than sorry, right?

Of those hanging out for a bargain, holding out for a few weeks is the most common (11.9%), followed by one- to two-months (11.6%), three to six months (7.8%) and a patient seven to eleven months (2.1%). There are even 2.3% of us willing to wait an entire year before taking on our next bargain shopping spree!

How much will we spend?

On average, Brits plan to spend an estimated £304.08 each on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year — totalling a whopping £4.5 billion!

Gender

Interestingly, males intend to spend more than women, at £381.88 compared to £215.86.

Generation

Gen Xers take out the generational spending cake, with plans to spend £351.15 on average. Millennials are hot on their tracks, sitting at £341.67. Baby Boomers plan to be a bit more careful with their money, spending £184.47 on average this year.

Region

Londoners plan to spend the most (£533.53), followed by the South West (£362.54) and the East Midlands (£263.02). In contrast, those residing in the West Midlands plan to spend the least (£188.11), followed by the North East (£191.11) and Wales (£192.14).

RegionAverage planned Black Friday/Cyber Monday spend (£)
East Midlands£263.02
East of England£206.04
London£533.53
North East£191.11
North West£209.49
Scotland£245.66
South East£235.92
South West£362.54
Wales£192.14
West Midlands£188.11
Yorkshire & The Humber£221.48

Source: finder.com/uk

Check out our Black Friday hub where you can find hundreds of deals at up to 60% off, all in one place.

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