BLACK FRIDAY BECOMES SLACK FRIDAY AS SHOPPERS IN WALES PLAN TIME OFF TO BAG BARGAINS

BLACK FRIDAY BECOMES SLACK FRIDAY AS SHOPPERS IN WALES PLAN TIME OFF TO BAG BARGAINS

BARGAIN-LOVING shoppers in Wales say they will spend an average of £405 on Black Friday, with a third planning to take some time off.

And those who do turn up for work will spend 16 minutes of company time hunting for deals.

Thirty-three percent of those who plan to shop on Black Friday in Wales say they will take some time off work, with 11% opting for a long weekend and 14% booking a day off.

Employees plan to spend an average of 16 minutes of work time browsing for deals – and 18% spending up to an HOUR.

With just one week to go before the big day, the average Black Friday shopper expects to spend £191 before the day itself and will spend £405 in total.

Peak time for Black Friday shopping in Wales will be 9.22am, according to a survey for Digital Commerce Platform Kooomo (www.kooomo.com).

Thirty-eight percent of shoppers say they have spent more than expected on previous Black Fridays and just a third (36%) stick to their budget.

Just a third (36%) of shoppers in Wales make a shopping list before going online bargain hunting, nearly one in three (32%) have a vague idea of what they want – and another 32% buy whatever they see at the time.

A quarter (26%) of people in Wales will shop on the High Street on Black Friday, with 53% opting to shop via laptop, 38% via desktop and 23% on their phone.

Tech is the most popular (59%) item to buy on Black Friday, followed by clothes (35%), homeware (30%) and cosmetics (23%).

Ciaran Bollard, CEO of Kooomo Digital Commerce Platform said:

 “It’s clear that there is an ever-growing appetite for Black Friday deals amongst shoppers. The statistics demonstrate that consumer behaviour has dramatically shifted from offline to online, hence the mammoth spikes in web traffic over the course of a couple of hours – customers want to get in, pick up exactly what they want, and get out.

“So, retailers need to keep up with the demand – from ensuring that their online stores can handle a surge in traffic, to making sure all websites are optimised for mobile, and everything in between. Ultimately, you get out of Black Friday what you put into it, so whether you’re a consumer or a retailer, planning is absolutely key.”