Black Friday Deals Up 68 %, As Shoppers Expect The Best Discounts Yet From Retailers in 2020

London, 23 November 2020. Research has revealed that despite an unprecedented retail environment and continuing economic uncertainty this Black Friday will be the biggest on record, with deals from the top five Black Friday retailers, Amazon, eBay, Argos, Currys and Tesco, already up by 68% this month.

A poll of 2000 Brits also found that shoppers are getting ready for a spending spree with nearly a quarter (21%) buying more Black Friday offers this year, as a third (27%) admit they are expecting better deals in 2020 whilst retailers try to get rid of stock after a tough year. 

One in three (29%) will be buying more deals to save on Christmas presents this year with an unprecedented festive period ahead, and a further 20% will be buying more because they have saved money this year. 

Data from hotukdeals, the biggest deal sharing community in the UK, compared 2019 and 2020 activity on the website, and found that the amount of deals shared so far this month is already up by 28%.

Deals across the top five categories have seen huge increases, including:  

●       Entertainment up by 51%

●       Sports and Outdoors up by 41%

●       Electronics up by 37%

●       Gaming up by 35%

●       Fashion up by 32%

However, skepticism of Black Friday deals is still high as two thirds (69%) said they didn't trust Black Friday offers because of tactics some retailers use - such as adding extra markup to the ‘standard’ price so the discount looks bigger, or having better deals at other times in the year. 

Data from hotukdeals also found that two thirds of Black Friday deals were not what they seem, with more than 11,000 fake deals shared during the shopping event last year. Only 33% of the discounts shared with the 2 million users were voted ‘hot’ meaning those products could have been cheaper elsewhere or at another time in the year, had hidden catches or simply not worthwhile. 

Dan Plant, consumer savings expert at hotukdeals, called for shoppers to stay alert and avoid fake deals this week as retailers will be fighting for shoppers’ cash more than ever before. 

Dan Plant comments, “Since the pandemic hit, we have seen sales across the high street and online like never before. With Black November extending the discount frenzy across the whole month and lockdown giving people more time to get ahead of the Christmas season rush, shoppers will be feeling anxious they get the best deals - but the truth is not many reductions and sales are what they first appear. It’s vital to fact-check whether a deal is real or not, before diving in.”

Philip Graves, one of the world's leading experts on consumer behaviour, including the psychology behind Black Friday shopping and how we interpret deals, adds:

“Lockdown has changed our shopping behaviour in two significant ways - firstly pushing shoppers away from the high street and seeing less tech savvy shoppers now buying online. In turn, now that millions more are shopping online they will be receiving more marketing emails pushing them to make another purchase and presenting deals in a way designed to make them appear compelling.”

Dan Plant continues, “We want the hotukdeals community to be the best place for consumers to share their knowledge, learn from other experts, and make the right decisions this Black Friday. Our community is here for shoppers all year round - guiding shoppers through lockdown, 2020 and beyond.” 

To find the best deals this Black Friday, with tips and advices from over 2 million savvy shoppers check out https://www.hotukdeals.com/black-friday. 

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Notes to Editors:

Data compiled by hotukdeals from Friday 22 November to Monday 1 December 2019.

Research compiled by Censuswide with 2000 UK residents in November 2020. 

About hotukdeals:

hotukdeals is the UK’s biggest deal-sharing community where two million members find, rate and share the best deals from on and off the high street every day. Members use the temperature gauge to vote on deals so other users know that the hotter the deal, the stronger the offer. hotukdeals is a founding member of Pepper.com, the world’s largest shopping community:

Pepper.com was founded in 2014 by Fabian Spielberger (mydealz) and Paul Nikkel (hotukdeals). Through international partnerships and conversations, Pepper.com gives smart shoppers around the world a voice to share deals, tips and ideas, connecting members in twelve countries on four continents. The Pepper.com group is headquartered in Berlin, Germany with offices in Belo Horizonte, Guadalajara, London, Lyon, Mumbai and Winnipeg and consists of market-leading platforms such as Chollometro (Spain), Dealabs(France), DesiDime (India), hotukdeals (United Kingdom), mydealz (Germany), Pelando.com.br (Brazil), Pepper.com (The Netherlands), Pepper.pl (Poland), Pepper.ru (Russia), Preisjaeger (Austria) and PromoDescuentos (Mexico). 25 million consumers use these platforms every month to make 12,000 purchasing decisions per minute.