So, is shopper fatigue a danger to Black Friday?
Well, that may be the case, at least online. There was a much smaller jump in traffic on e-commerce sites on days preceding it to the levels on Black Friday in 2019, indicating a plateauing of interest for the sale.
Awareness of Black Friday continues to climb, with even brands like Domino’s getting in on the action. It’s clear Black Friday’s brand recognition is at an all-time high in the UK. But as the sale window grows ever more steadily and outlets like ASDA veer away from the carnage of its initial foray into Americanism, it looks like the sale will gradually become more of a byword for a pre-Christmas sale season in the UK.
Some retailers are actively boycotting it in opposition to the commercial madness of it – B&M, Home Bargains, TK Maxx and IKEA are some of the biggest that abstain.
Still, this time of year will always encourage big spending (as there will likely always be as long as Christmas stays Christmas), but as an apparent, more conservative, British sense of the season takes over, that spending will be more spread out and will likely come with fewer mad dashes, brawls and tabloid glee.