Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
Black Friday in the United Kingdom (UK) - Statistics and Facts
Black Friday, which started as an American tradition, has become one of the biggest dates in the retail calendar, with retailers hoping to benefit from increased traffic and consumers hunting for a bargain. Black Friday takes place in the fourth week of November, the day after Thanksgiving, which means it falls on November 29th in 2024, although special deals are spread across the entire weekend (also known as Black or Cyber Weekend) and Monday (Cyber Monday).
Enthusiasm for Black Friday
Black Friday is a tradition that consumers have warmly embraced in the United Kingdom, with almost all consumers knowing at least a little about the event. This knowledge translates into action. In a 2025 survey, only about one quarter of respondents said that they won’t buy anything during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period. In the UK, the timing of Black Friday has most relevance for its proximity to Christmas, offering consumers the chance to save money on their Christmas gifts.
Online sales hold onto the lead
Overall, Black Friday weekend sales in the UK were forecast to maintain their momentum, setting a new record for the November sales events in 2025. Online sales were still expected to account for the majority of total sales. The leading categories consumers planned to buy over Black Friday weekend 2025 were clothing and footwear, toys, and electronics. In addition, consumer electronics were the product category expected to offer the best deals for most shoppers.
Beyond retailer websites and promotional emails, consumers are exploring new and innovative ways to find the best deals. One such method is AI chatbots, which are most attractive to consumers aged 25 to 34.
