Ellie Taylor on the Black Friday Fever

This Black Friday, it looks like British productivity is taking an unexpected “holiday.” With November 29th set for retail therapy, over a quarter (27%) of employees in Essex plan to shop during work hours. Research from cashback platform Rakuten suggests this could lead to around 83 million lost work hours. Who says bargain-hunting isn’t hard work?

Black Friday has radically changed the UK shopping calendar since Amazon first introduced it in 2010, followed by Asda in 2013. What was once a one-day, American post-Thanksgiving event has grown into a month-long sales season, with November retail growth even outpacing December’s by 2017, shifting attention away from traditional Boxing Day sales.

This transformation has also seen a surge in online shopping. In 2020, UK online Black Friday sales reached £8.57 billion, reflecting a strong preference for e-commerce. Yet, in-store shopping remains significant, with nearly half of UK consumers still making purchases in physical stores in 2023. Black Friday has cemented itself as a pivotal part of the UK retail calendar, blending online convenience with in-person retail experiences.

Aston spoke to comedian & actress Ellie Taylor and Alex Stedman, shopping expert at Rakuten UK.

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash