Half of shoppers searching for Black Friday deals say they have delayed buying items in the hope of seeing them discounted.
KPMG surveyed 3000 people across the UK about their intentions for this month’s promotional period that leads up to Black Friday on the 27th. Three quarters (77 per cent) said that they are planning to, or may be tempted to, shop – with 49 per cent of them having held off buying target items until this period.
Of the consumers either planning to or that may shop for Black Friday period discounts:
- A third (30 per cent) plan to buy Christmas gifts, and a fifth (22 per cent) plan to buy for themselves.
- A quarter (25 per cent) may be tempted to buy items for themselves, and a fifth (22 per cent) may be tempted to buy Christmas gifts.
Gen Z (Born after 1996) is the age group most commonly planning to shop for themselves or for Christmas gifts for others this Black Friday period. With 71 per cent saying they have delayed buying in the hope of discounts. Regionally, Londoners are the most likely (across all age groups) to be planning Black Friday purchases (35 per cent for themselves and 46 per cent Christmas gifts).
Adults clothing is the most common target, for 30 per cent across all age groups – rising to half (47 per cent) of Gen Z age. Footwear (20 per cent) and Health and Beauty products (20 per cent) complete the top three categories.
With a prolonged hot summer still in mind, nearly one in 10 (seven per cent) consumers are looking for air con deals, while the same amount are respectively focussed on heater purchases for the more immediate colder months.
Among those (23 per cent of) consumers saying they won’t be buying anything this Black Friday, half (48 per cent) said it’s because they don’t trust that the prices on offer are better than any other time of year.
“Retail sales were strong in early summer, and weaker in the latter part,” said Linda Ellett, Head of Consumer and Retail for KPMG UK. “What these results suggest is that at least some demand has been delayed – with savvy consumers awaiting Black Friday period promotions. The conventional Christmas promotional shopping season is also being pulled forward. Both of these things are a respective challenge for retailers – who have to consider the need to compete with rivals, the demand for discounts from consumers, while protecting their margins. And, also, how to keep the spending going right through to Christmas Eve.
“Among consumers saying they won’t buy anything this Black Friday period, half cite a lack of belief that Black Friday discounts are better than any other time of year. Retailers need to be mindful of the ongoing job required to convince this group – especially now that AI tools make price tracking easier.”
One in ten consumers (12 per cent) said they will prompt AI chatbot tools (such as Chat GPT and Gemini) in order to find offers – but the popularity of using AI in this way failed to increase on last year (when it was 15 per cent). However, using AI suggested links from search engines to find promotions grew slightly to 13 per cent from 12 per cent twelve months ago.
Heading directly to a retailer’s website (or app) is the most common way (that 53 per cent) that people will find deals, followed by a third (30 per cent) relying on emails from retailers, and a quarter (25 per cent) heading to stores.
Free delivery (40 per cent) and free returns (22 per cent) remain the most popular ways that consumers say retailers can tempt them into making a purchase. While livestream shopping events were least likely to encourage consumers to buy.
Ellett concluded: “While the results suggest that AI use by consumers as a way of finding Black Friday discounts has largely failed to increase in popularity, one in ten consumers still plan to search for deals using AI chatbot tools and AI search engine link suggestions, respectively. They also serve as a reminder of the importance of multi-channel strategies for retailers, with physical, online and social all ways that different groups of consumers prefer to shop - and the continued strength of free delivery and returns as a purchasing driver.”