According to the Office for National Statistics, footfall on UK high streets fell 5% last week, and was 10% lower than a year ago. That will have hurt shops, who have already been hit by weak consumer confidence in the run-up to the budget in October, and afterwards.
Black Friday, the traditional US post-Thanksgiving sales bonanza that has now gone global, should give shoppers an opportunity to bag a bargain. But they should also watch out for scams from fraudsters, and be aware that some offers may not be as generous as they appear.
Data from the British Retail Consortium shows that total footfall at UK stores fell by 4.5% in November, year on year. However, that is partly because Black Friday came earlier last year.
Shopping centres were hit hardest but the number of visitors to high streets and retail parks also fell, with the north-east of England, Yorkshire, Wales and Scotland most affected, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic.
Black Friday has been one of the biggest shopping days in the US for years, leading UK retailers to adopt it. A decade ago there were big crowds and scuffles as stores opened at midnight to lure shoppers in with cut-price deals.
These days it is more of an online affair. However, Amazon faces the prospect of thousands of its workers protesting or striking from today until Monday, in a push for better workers’ rights and climate action from the US retailer.
The Make Amazon Pay campaign is coordinating action in the US, Germany, the UK, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries. The agenda • 7.45am GMT: French inflation rate for November • 9.30am GMT: Bank of England mortgage approvals data • 10am GMT: eurozone inflation flash reading for November • 10.30am GMT: Bank of England to release its financial stability report • 1.30pm GMT: Canadian Q3 GDP report
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