Amna Khan, senior lecturer in retail and consumer behaviour at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained whether the appetite for Black Friday is bigger than ever and why it has become such a cultural phenomenon in the UK.
Sputnik: So why has Black Friday and more recently Cyber Monday become almost a cultural phenomenon within UK society over the last few years?
Amna Khan: One of the reasons why Black Friday and Cyber Monday take so much prominence in the retail calendar is it comes directly before Christmas. And Christmas is such an important festive season within the UK. Now, generally what we would see is that the Boxing Day sales and the Christmas sales would happen post-Christmas. But Black Friday allows consumers to get a real discount on products that they want to use as presents for Christmas. So it basically serves a need for consumers in the sense that they're getting something that they can offer as a present and also have it at a reduced price. And also because we've inherited it from the US, and it's such a big occasion in the US, and Amazon have brought it to the UK. And now we actually enjoy this process of getting really good discounts before the Christmas period
Sputnik: Will the pandemic and lockdown affect Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year?
Amna Khan: Well, what we can already see with Black Friday and Cyber Monday is that it's not just taking place over a weekend. Over the past few years, we've seen it generally take place over a longer period of time. And we've seen a repeat in that behaviour this year. Especially because of lockdown, especially because of COVID-19; we've seen much more of a spread of the purchasing behaviour for consumers.
So it won't just take place over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, what we can see as many retailers have been discounting their merchandise from as early as the 14th of November. So what you can see is it's going to take place over a longer period of time, and this is exasperated by the fact that the stores are closed, especially within England, the stores are closed because of lockdown. And what that is doing is forcing consumers to go online. And obviously, this is one of the most important Christmas shopping periods for retailers. So they want to really capture that spend over a longer period of time.
Sputnik: Does Black Friday still have the same importance for retailers? Or are we beginning to see a change in their attitudes and approach to the biggest sale event of the year in the UK?
Amna Khan: It definitely still has a very prominent position in retailing and the retailing calendar, if anything, it's actually got more important over the years. And it's especially important this year, because the stores have been shut for so long. So all of a sudden, this promotion and this push to get consumers to buy is even more important, especially if they can't use the stores. So if anything, I'd say that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming more and more important but what you also have to remember in the consumer’s awareness and the consumer’s behaviour now, over a decade we've been exposed to this information. So it's almost like an expectation for consumers that they're going to get a Black Friday discount or they're going to get really good merchandising sales prior to Christmas. It's a double edged sword, where the retailers are pushing it obviously for sales reasons, but the consumers are also expecting it now. It's starting to become normalised within our retail calendar.