British retailers reported strong online demand in early "Black Friday" trading, as shoppers chased deals in a spending spree that is expected to top last year's record level. Shoppers are looking for bargains ahead of an expected rise in prices in 2017 as a weaker pound starts to push up the cost of imports, putting household finances under pressure.
Last year marked a change in the nature of the US-imported discounting day. It generated record revenue but was subdued in terms of store-based sales, with shoppers put off by bad weather and memories of chaos and scuffles in 2014. This year, shoppers are focusing even more online. Currys PC World - part of Dixons Retail, Europe's largest electricals and telecommunications retailer - reported its highest ever number of orders, up 40 percent on 2015, with over half a million visitors to its website before 0600 GMT.
Electricals to toys retailer Argos saw similarly robust trade with over half a million visits to its website between midnight and 0100 GMT, up 50 percent year-on-year. "It will be the busiest trading day of the year," Argos CEO John Rogers told Reuters. "It's becoming an increasingly mobile (phone) shopping day. We'd expect to be north of 60 percent online and almost 80 percent of our online orders are coming from mobile," he said.
John Lewis, Britain's biggest department store group, said its website was taking five orders every second. UK retailers will be hoping the promotions kick-start Christmas trading, building on a strong October when cold weather and Halloween boosted sales.
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