On Friday 24th November, the day everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. Black Friday sales were on for a record. With customers ready to spend up to £8 billion during the four day shopping event. However researches said that online sales would see the most sales on Friday.

On the high street, sales were expected to come to a total of £1.45 billion (which is up by 4% in 2017). Shoppers were expected to spend £1.15 billion, up 15% on the same day last year. According to the office of National statistics normal weekly spending online in the UK is around £1.2 billion.

Shopping centers such as Westfield extended their opening and closing times for the occasion. John Lewis, Game, Tesco and Argos also extended their high street opening hours and lots of retailers already offered days before where the deals could take place in a bid to enlarge hype and spending to build up to the event.

However shops like Marks and Spencer’s and Harrods shopping department store ignored Black Friday saying these kinds of events “cheapen the brand.”

Clothing retailer from Primark said ‘Black Friday? As if we would want to wait all year for a flash sale, just to wow you with out totes increds prices.’

From the results of current retails, they don’t think Black Friday is as big as the public makes out. They don’t seem to be impressed by it. However in Westfield shopping center in shepherds bush on Friday Helen White said, “I went early in the morning to catch all the good deals and I was in luck because it was empty and didn’t get as busy as I thought during the day.” This is due to Black Friday now being a four-day shopping event including cyber Monday. People of the public evidently weren’t as keen to get it all done on Friday.