Move over Amazon Prime Deals Days, Black Friday is still tops in UK – report

Amazon Prime Deals Days are a big event for UK shoppers, but wait: Black Friday remains the top discount day for hungry bargain hunters, according to research from Sensormatic.

While 37% of UK consumers plan to shop on Amazon Prime Deals Days in October, twice as many (79%) plan to shop on Black Friday. Meanwhile, the Saturday of the Black Friday weekend (29 November) is expected to be the second busiest day for in-store footfall of the entire Christmas trading season.

Sensormatic’s poll reveals that 70% of UK consumers plan to visit a store during Black Friday (28 November) this year, with 13% planning to visit more stores during Black Friday compared to 2024 as they seek out the best bargains.  

And with the Autumn Budget falling two days before Black Friday (26 November) it could either pompt greater demand for discounts or undermine shopper spending confidence, the report notes.

Amazon Prime Deals Days, which run across 7-8 October, marks the start of the online retail giant’s Peak Trading campaign, offering Prime members “millions of deals” and “deep discounts” on popular gifting categories, including apparel and beauty.

Last year, Amazon said its October Prime Days promotion was a record-breaking event, with Prime members saving over $1billion across millions of offers globally.

However, despite growing adoption, more UK shoppers will hold out on gift buying until Black Friday when consumers see greater channel choice across on- and off-line and deals from brands and retailers outside of the Amazon platform “helping to broaden Black Friday’s appeal”, the report said.

Meanwhile, adoption of Singles Day (11 November) remains low in the UK compared to both Black Friday and Amazon’s Prime Days. Even though a growing number of brands, including Calvin Klein, ASOS and Lookfantastic will offer Singles Day deals this year, just 9% of UK consumers plan to shop during the promotion.

Last year, Sensormatic’s ShopperTrak Analytics platform data showed UK retail footfall rose 4.8% year-on-year on Black Friday (29 November 2024), with pricing sensitivity boosting performance across the discounting period as consumers sought deals to make discretionary spending budgets work harder.

Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic’s EMEA Retail Consultant, said: “Having dealt with ongoing inflation and cost-of-living pressures for such a prolonged period, astute shopping behaviours are now engrained in the UK customer psyche.

“Relentless bargain-hunting, highly considered purchasing and cross-checking every channel for the best prices is now second nature for hyper-savvy shoppers. And this may mean we see elevated demand for Black Friday, helping to kickstart retailers’ Peak Trading campaigns.”

But Sumpter added: “There is, however, still a joker in the pack. The jury’s still out on how the Autumn Budget… will impact consumer behaviour. Many retailers will fear further tax hikes and additional pressure on household incomes could risk derailing demand just before the start of their most critical trading period of the year.”