Whilst a number of retailers have firmly resisted any involvement in Black Friday promotions, others seem to be hell bent on making the whole of November one massive sale month. With B&Q deciding to sidestep Black Friday in favour of its commitment to constant low pricing, and with House of Fraser, Marks and Spencer and Selfridges also deciding not to participate, preferring instead to maintain margins, perhaps Black Friday has lost its shine.
Clearly the impact of past years discounting ahead of what should have been the most profitable season for most is causing many retailers to seriously consider whether the short term spike in demand, which invariably leads to a corresponding spike in returns, is worth the hassle. In fact many say that Black Friday categorically has not provided any meaningful lift in profitable sales for their businesses at all, particularly as the current consumer trend is to over-order and then return a high percentage of the items, taking them out of stock and reducing their value if and when they can be re-sold.
One cannot help but think that a return to the January sales of old which were all about genuine end of line clearance with a small percentage of special purchases, would make far better business sense for most of the country’s retailers.
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