Yodel's Black Friday insights
With the UK’s retail giants reporting dramatic growth in online sales over Black Friday, our online shopper survey reveals the customer experience behind the headlines
UK retailers have hailed a bumper Black Friday, which saw unprecedented online sales growth propping up a weaker High Street performance for many outlets.
Every year Yodel carries out a comprehensive survey, which gives us fascinating insights into how online shoppers are responding to Black Friday.
Although IMRG, the UK’s industry association for e-tailers, reported an 11.7 per cent increase in the value of on the day online sales compared with 2016, one of the biggest trends we’ve witnessed is the power of spreading the 24-hour Black Friday bonanza across a longer four day period.
This strategy is having a tangible impact; 40 per cent of customers we surveyed said they spent more than they planned this year because offers were spread over a longer period and it encouraged their spending.
Spreading the sales period over a week has also generated a deeper level of engagement online. Our survey shows that over 53 per cent of customers picked up a bargain during Black Friday, a whopping 23 per cent more than in 2015.
This online shopping fiesta was firmly focused around fashion and footwear, with over half (51 per cent) of shoppers choosing to purchase clothing and shoes online. 41 per cent of people picked out technological and electrical items and 31 per cent grabbed an online bargain on their favourite health and beauty brands. While a significant 30 per cent of online shoppers picking up a leisure-related gift.
Another key trend our research unearthed was that 88 per cent of online shoppers gave their parcel delivery top marks, saying they were ‘ satisfied or very satisfied’ with the experience.
An overwhelming majority (87 per cent ) of customers of the shoppers we surveyed had already started their Christmas shopping. Only 9 per cent of the women we spoke to hadn’t made any Christmas purchases, compared to 22 per cent of men – leaving ample opportunities for retailers to target male shoppers on the hunt for the perfect Christmas gift in the final run up to the big day.
The Black Friday bonanza may be over for another year, but shoppers are already gearing up for the next sales extravaganza. Over 26% of people we surveyed said they would definitely be looking for Boxing Day sales promotions online.
We’re looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for retailers in the post-Christmas sales period. In the meantime, from everyone at Yodel - we wish you a joyful and prosperous festive season.