Member Article

Yorkshire & the Humber prepares for Black Friday as retailers stock up on luxury goods

Yorkshire & the Humber businesses are preparing for ‘Black Friday’, with over two thirds (67%) of retailers in Yorkshire and Humberside feeling more upbeat about Christmas trading, compared to last year.

64% of retailers are planning Black Friday promotions in November (traditionally a busy American shopping day, after Thanksgiving) to drive additional sales according to an independent survey of multi-channel retailers, commissioned by Barclays’ Retail & Wholesale banking team.

Another tradition that has crossed the Atlantic is Mega Monday, one of the busiest online shopping days in America, which is set to fall on December 1st.

Nearly all (96%) of the retailers questioned predicted that traffic will increase to their site on Mega Monday, compared to last year.

The majority of those surveyed (70%) also said that they expected revenues to increase, with nearly a fifth (18%) expecting sales to increase by 10% or more, compared to 2013.

In terms of presents, tablets are predicted to be the biggest growth sales channel, above smartphones.

Practical presents are predicted to be the most popular this year, nearly 1 in 10 retailers think premium luxury gifts, such as jewellery, designer handbags and watches will be their strongest growth category.

Local retailers are expecting to see growth across all of their sales channels over Christmas, with shopping on tablets predicted to take off.

35% of retailers said it would be their main sales channel from a growth perspective, ahead of stores at 19% and smartphones at 17%.

While in its infancy, retailers believe that shopping for gifts via social networking sites could increase by nearly a quarter (24%) compared to 2013.

Debbie Mullen, Yorkshire Head of Corporate at Barclays, commented: “2014 has been a good year for many retailers in the Yorkshire and Humberside region thanks to heightened consumer confidence and this is clearly reflected in their brighter outlook for the Christmas season.

“It’s interesting to see that purchases on tablets have been cited as retailers’ biggest opportunity for growth and social commerce is also one to watch in the future, as ‘buy buttons’ on social networking sites will make online shopping even more accessible.”

On Christmas Day itself, nearly all (99%) retailers expect traffic to their sites to be up, as shoppers scour for sale bargains, with the peak time for online shopping predicted to be between 8pm and 10pm.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .