Black Friday is coming - but will shoppers on Suffolk’s high streets be getting their hands on big bargains this year or will the best offers be online?
Black Friday - adopted from the America where huge sales are launched after Thanksgiving - is now one of the biggest shopping days in the UK calendar. This year it falls on Friday, November 23.
But with just three weeks to go retailers in Ipswich are playing their cards close to their chests.
Sailmakers and the Buttermarket shopping centre have urged people to “watch this space” as specific details of the top offers will be released as we approach the global phenomenon.
Julie Mcgee from the Sailmakers marketing team, said: “None of the big retailers want to give away what they are doing too early otherwise neighbouring stores are likely to offer better deals.”
She admitted that most bargain hunters are likely to shop online.
She continued: “We are getting more and more sales online each year and the main increase our stores will see are higher numbers of click and collects.”
How long do you have to grab a bargain?
Traditionally the Black Friday sales kick off at midnight and last 24 hours but in more recent years offers have been made available in the days preceding it and have stretched across the weekend to Cyber Monday.
This week of big sales now kick starts the Christmas shopping rush for retailerss, with Cyber Monday frequently charted as the busiest online shopping day of the year,
What can you expect?
Black Friday receives mixed reactions year on year- with many people thinking it’s a waste of time, while others spend hours queuing up to get cut price TVs and games consoles and heavily discounted clothing from big name fashion brand.
Some years we have seen websites crash under the weight of traffic and people physically clashing as they fight to be the first one through the doors of stores like Asda.
On Facebook Katie Versey commented: “I don’t understand why we do it over here. It’s a post Thanksgiving sale and we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.”
While others enjoy the day of doorstopping discounts, including Michelle Cook who says: “It’s a great way to get better discounts for Christmas- and yes it is an American thing but why not participate if it benefits loads of families?”
Lindsay McCafferty argued: “It’s consumerism gone mad- most things are inflated in price in the run up to Black Friday so that you think you are getting a deal on the day. Proven by Amazon selling a games console for £329.99 right now that you can buy direct from Nintendo for £279.99. What’s the betting on Black Friday it is reduced to £279?”
Faye Walsh agreed: “There seems to be a sale on every other weekend at most retailers anyway, they’re all fighting to stay alive all year round. I’m not convinced it is anything more than just another sale but with a fancy name making you think you’re getting a better deal than what was being offered in the sale the previous weekend.”
Where in Suffolk can I pick up the hottest deals?
There are long lists of retailers who will be taking part in the sale- and we would advise keeping an eye on their websites for full details. Here are a few of the ones that regularly take part in the promotions:
Debenhams, Jack Wills, H&M, Game, Burton, Topshop, Marks and Spencer, River Island, The Works, Boots, Tesco, Swarovski, Jessops, Currys PC World, JD Sports and Phase Eight.
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