Driven by Black Friday offers and price-matches, John Lewis & Partners was up 7.7% in total sales for the week ending November 24 compared with the same week last year. The retailer declared the week to be ‘the biggest sales week in our history,’ with buoyant trade both online and in stores, with a number of shops experiencing ‘a record week.’
Launching early offers in advance of Black Friday itself (November 23), John Lewis & Partners notes that sales were less concentrated on the Friday, although this remained the busiest trading day. Cookshop enjoyed ‘strong sales’ due to price matching competitors’ promotions. Electrical and Home Technology sales were up 5.7% and Home sales were up 2.3%.
However, retail footfall statistics suggests that Black Friday is having a negative influence on bricks and mortar outlets in general, as shoppers focus on online bargain hunting. There was a -4% year on year decline in footfall in high streets on Black Friday, according to retail analyst, Springboard. However, there were more drastic drops in footfall in retail parks (-5.3%) and shopping centres (-8.3%). Moreover, overall footfall over the weekend (from Friday 23 to Sunday 25) fell by -5.3%, states Springboard (compared to a fall of -1.1% over the same weekend last year).
Highlighting Black Friday’s status primarily as an online event, online spending rose by +7.3% on Black Friday, according to IMRG (although this was lower than its forecast rise of +13.2%). Barclaycard also reported an increase in transactions (of 10%) on Black Friday but also found that consumers were spending less, with a decline of 12% in spending.
Top: John Lewis & Partners reported strong sales online and in shops over the week ending November 24.
