November and December are two of the most expensive months of the year for many of us, as we prepare for Christmas and kick off the festive celebrations. With it comes Black Friday, a retail shopping experience imported from the States that's become increasingly popular in recent years. With advice on trends and deals, here's Lucy Davies.
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00:00 We say Black Friday but actually we mean that whole month, the whole Black Friday period
00:05 when there are deals and discounts. So 20% of us are spending more this year than last,
00:10 which is a lot. That's crazy. But I think there's a dip in retail sales in September,
00:16 which is unsurprising given the economy and everything that's going on in the world. And
00:22 I wonder whether people are saving up for Black Friday. Who knows?
00:27 Lucy is a retail expert at SAP Amarsis and this year they've put together their Customer
00:32 Loyalty Index for the third time. It reveals how savvy shoppers are eyeing Black Friday
00:37 deals to make big savings and just how much we plan to spend during the festive shopping
00:41 season compared to previous years. Surprisingly, despite the cost of living crisis continuing
00:47 to decrease household budgets and putting a cap on non-essential spending, around a
00:51 fifth of us are looking to spend more over the festive period this year compared with
00:56 last. 27% to be exact are going to buy their Christmas presents on Black Friday or during
01:02 that period, which seems pretty sensible. I think many people are not going to spend
01:09 at all, which is very sensible of them. But I think people we surveyed are certainly being
01:15 very good at researching a particular big ticket item and waiting for that moment when
01:21 they can get the real bargains. But it's not necessarily a great thing for brands to
01:28 only offer discounts. As we are coming up to that big shopping period,
01:32 how can consumers make sure they are getting a good deal? And do you have any tips for
01:36 that shopping around experience? Yes, absolutely. So I think I'd mentioned
01:43 before, sign up to stuff. If you've got a favourite store or shop that you are pretty
01:48 sure you want to buy something, make sure you're signed up to their emails or newsletter
01:53 or anything. If they offer a competition, that's worth entering. Just things like that.
02:01 You will get the best deals then. And not necessarily discounts, but also stuff like
02:06 being a VIP member, getting elevated service from them. Also just do your research. I know
02:12 there are some shops or some retailers guilty of perhaps raising their prices or having
02:18 elevated prices throughout the whole year. So is that really a discount? And so that's
02:24 a matter of just actually going into the store and checking if you're on foot or just looking
02:28 online and just keeping it. And there are certain websites that you can check prices
02:33 against each other as well. The data uncovered in the index suggests shoppers
02:36 are spending less in the clothes and entertainment sectors and more in food and drink, suggesting
02:42 budgets are only stretching to essentials. Lucy says it could mean many won't spend on
02:47 Black Friday at all. Maybe not everybody's going to shop at Black
02:50 Friday and I don't want people to feel like they have to. I know there's a lot of talk
02:56 about it and people get very excited and very caught up in it. But yeah, it's best to just
03:01 stick to what you've planned to buy or not at all.