UK retailers hope for Black Friday boost after Storm Bert hit November sales – business live

It’s still Thursday (just) in California, but some eager shoppers have already been gathering ready for Black Friday to kick off:

australia

The Black Friday sales have already been in full swing in Australia.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) expects a record $6.7bn to be spent from Friday to Monday – 5.5% more than in the same period last year – based on analysis by market researcher Roy Morgan.

While major retailers – and plenty of smaller labels – have heavily promoted their products for Black Friday, some brands marketed as ethically minded have chosen to entirely avoid taking part in the sales.

Financial advisor Quilter is urging shoppers to have a heightened awareness of the scams targeting their money.

They warn that Black Friday and Cyber Monday is prime time for fraudsters looking to take advantage of people during this period of high-volume spending and frenzied online activity.

Such scams are often not only disguised as the sale of goods, but also appear as opportunities to invest your money, Quilter’s information security culture manager Louise Cockburn warns.

She’s drawn up some advice for avoiding scams:

• A sense of urgency – This is one of the most common tactics used at this time of year. Fraudsters design offers that appear to be fleeting, pressuring shoppers to act quickly without thoroughly evaluating the legitimacy of the deal.
  
  Phrases such as ‘limited time offer’ or ‘only a few items left’ can be red flags. Making hasty decisions could prove costly, so you should always stop and take a moment to assess the offer critically before proceeding.
  

• Fear and anxiety – Scammers often incite fear by suggesting that failing to act immediately could result in negative consequences, such as missing out on a deal or facing account issues.
  
  Emails from retailers are rife at this time of year, but messages claiming that your account has been compromised and urging you to click a link to verify your information are common scams. You should always verify such claims by directly contacting the retailer or service provider through official channels.
  

• Greed and excitement – Scammers know that the allure of significant discounts can cloud judgement, so you should always question the authenticity of deals that offer products at prices well below market value. It is wise to compare prices across multiple trusted sources to validate the offer, and shop only from secure, official websites.
  
  You should always look for a padlock symbol in the address bar and verify that the URL starts with “https://”. Secure connections protect your personal and financial information from being intercepted by malicious actors.

The Filter, the Guardian’s home for product reviews and recommendations, has rounded up some of the best Black Friday deals on offer in the UK.

They’ve picked out genuine Black Friday deals – namely, discounts that undercuts the item’s long-term average price by a notable amount, rather than reversing an October price hike (a tactic popular with less scruplous retailers).

The list includes air fryers, food mixers, a handheld steamer, a coffee machine, hand-held weighs, tech kit, and clothes….

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

UK retailers will be hoping for a surge of Black Friday sales today, after bad weather hit takings in November.

This month has been tough for Britain’s retailers, as Storm Bert brought high winds, heavy rain, flooding and transport disruption to parts of the country.

According to the Office for National Statistics, footfall on UK high streets fell 5% last week, and was 10% lower than a year ago. That will have hurt shops, who have already been hit by weak consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget in October, and afterwards.

Black Friday, the traditional US post-Thanksgiving sales bonanza that has now gone global, should give shoppers an opportunity to bag a bargain. BUT, they should also watch out for scams from fraudsters, and be aware that some offers may not be as generous as they appear….

New data this morning from the British Retail Consortium shows that total footfall at UK stores fell by 4.5% in November, year-on-year. However, that’s partly because Black Friday came earlier last year.

Shopping centres were hit hardest, but the number of visitors to high streets and retail parks also fell with the north-east of England, Yorkshire, Wales and Scotland most affected, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, says:

“Footfall took a disappointing tumble in November, as a later-than-usual Black Friday and low consumer confidence meant customers were hesitant to hit the shops. Some northern cities also suffered particularly badly due to Storm Bert, which caused travel disruption towards the end of the month. Retailers remain hopeful that the Black Friday and Christmas sales will help to turn around the declining footfall seen through most of 2024, crucial as we enter the “golden quarter”.

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, says hopes of an early pick-up to spending before Christmas has been dashed:

“Retail store visits dipped in November as consumer confidence remains volatile, perhaps not helped by post-Budget spending jitters and shoppers withholding festive purchases, opting instead to shop around for the best prices or hold out for further discounting.

This lacklustre footfall performance will have come as a blow for many retailers, who would have been counting on getting early Christmas trading results under their belts before the start of advent.

Black Friday has been one of the biggest shopping days in the US for years, leading UK retailers to adopt it. A decade ago, there were big crowds and scuffles as stores opened at midnight to lure shoppers in with cut-price deals.

These days, it’s more of a online affair.

But Amazon faces the prospect of thousands of its workers protesting or striking from today until Monday, in a push for better workers’ rights and climate action from the US retailer.

The Make Amazon Pay campaign, is coordinating action in the US, Germany, the UK, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries.

The agenda

• 7.45am GMT: French inflation rate for November

• 9.30am GMT: Bank of England mortgage approvals data

• 10am GMT: Eurozone inflation flash reading for November

• 10.30am GMT: Bank of England to release its Financial Stability Report

• 1.30pm GMT: Canadian Q3 GDP report