UK Black Friday & Cyber Monday spending

So how are UK consumers looking to purchase this year? How much are they looking to spend, and how are they planning to fund this? This report reveals the expected shopping trends of UK consumers for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales can last for over a week, but most retailers tend to hold back the best deals until the main days. Don’t want to miss out on the best deals this year, but lacking in savings? Interest-free credit cards allow you to spread the cost of spending interest-free. 

Key findings

• Almost half (46.60%) of responders estimated they would spend £200 or more on Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

• Electronics and technology are the most popular items to purchase on Black Friday & Cyber Monday. Almost three-quarters (73.45%) of UK consumers reported they are likely to purchase electronics and technology across Black Friday weekend.

• Almost two-thirds of responders (62%) reported planning to put their Black Friday purchases on debit cards and just under one-quarter (23.35%) opted to spend on credit cards.

• On average, discounts of between 21% and 30% were most likely to convince respondents to purchase a Black Friday deal. Younger age groups generally seek higher discounts, with 18-24 and 25-34-year-olds most likely to be convinced by discounts between 41% and 50%.

• Over half of responders (55.7%) reported that they prefer shopping online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. 

The items Brits are most likely to purchase on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest online shopping days that see many popular retailers slash their prices for a limited time. Consumers can often score incredible deals on some of their most sought-after products. When asked which items they would be most likely to purchase, almost three-quarters of UK consumers (73.45%) voted for electronics and technology.

After electronics and technology, half of all respondents (50.8%) reported they were likely to purchase clothing and footwear, with females (55.1%) more likely than males (45.1%) to spend in this category. When looking at males individually, however, video games and consoles were the second most common item to purchase on Black Friday, with just under half of men (47.44%) likely to purchase on Black Friday. Clothing and footwear followed in third place. 

Overall, video games and consoles were the third most likely products to be purchased, with males (47.4%) more likely to purchase these than females (31.23%). Instead, when looking at what women are likely to purchase on Black Friday, health & beauty ranks in third position with 44% of women likely to purchase. 

How much are Brits expected to spend over Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022?

Nearly a third (28.95%) of responders estimated they will spend between £101 and £200 across Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which was the most common spending bracket among responders. Almost half (46.6%) estimated they would spend over £200 across the weekend of deals. However, only 6.2% predicted they would spend in excess of £500. 

In general, men estimated they would spend more over the Black Friday weekend, with 58.14% estimating they would spend over £200, compared to just 37.9% of females. Women were most likely to spend in the £101 - £200 bracket (32.54%), whereas males were most likely to spend in the £201 - £300 bracket (25.58%). Almost 1 in 10 males (9.53%) declared that they would spend over £500 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, compared to only 3.68% of women. 

How are Brits paying for their Black Friday & Cyber Monday purchases?

Almost two-thirds of responders (62%) suggested they would spend using their debit cards. Just short of one-quarter (23.35%) opted to spend on credit cards. Males were more likely to spend on credit cards (28.26%) than females (19.65%) while females were more likely to spend using debit cards (67.46%) than males (54.77%). 

Of the other types of payment, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) was the most popular, preferred by 6.6% of people. That narrowly edged out cash, which was the chosen method of payment for 6.45%, showing just how much we’ve moved towards a cashless society.

The likelihood of paying for goods using a debit card consistently decreased with age, with over 54s the least likely (47.66%). Over 54s were also the most likely to fund their spending using credit cards (38.32%) than all other age brackets. Eighteen to 24-year-olds were the most likely to pay for goods using cash (10.92%) and store cards and gift cards (1.76%).

BNPL was far more popular with those aged between 25 and 34 (8.25%) and 35 to 44 (8.05%). Somewhat surprisingly, cash was most popular with those aged 18 to 24, with 10.92%, compared to 7.48% for over 54s who were the second most likely age group to make cash purchases.

What level of discount do Brits need to convince them to make a Black Friday or Cyber Monday purchase?

Just over a third (34.9%) of respondents suggested a discount of 30% would be enough to convince them to make a purchase over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Eighty percent suggested a discount of 50% would be enough, and just 1.15% suggested 10% or less would be enough.

The data suggests that discounts of 20% or less are very unlikely to persuade shoppers to part with their cash on Black Friday. However, it also shows that people don’t necessarily require huge savings of more than 50% either.

Females generally sought higher discounts than males, with a 26.4% majority suggesting 41-50% would convince them to make a purchase, compared to a 31.45% majority of males suggesting 21-30% would be enough.

Younger age groups were most likely to seek higher discounts, with 18-24 and 25-34 year olds most likely to be convinced by 41-50% discounts (26.76% and 23.54% respectively). All other age categories were most likely to spend with the 21-30% discount bracket. Those older than 54 were generally happier to spend on products with lower discounts, with over half (52.33%) reporting that a discount of 30% would be enough to convince them to buy.

How would you prefer to shop for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday deals?

Over half of responders (55.7%) reported that they prefer to shop for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals exclusively online. This was higher for females (60.61%) and lower for males (49.19%). Females were also significantly less likely to shop exclusively in-store (7.63%) than males (16.16%).

For all age groups, online sales were preferred to shopping in-store. Over half of all age brackets (excluding 18-24-year-olds) preferred online sales. 

The most likely to shop exclusively in-store were 18-24-year-olds at 19.01% followed by those over 54 (15.42%). 18-24-year-olds were also the happiest shopping both in-store and online (38.38%) and this approach decreased with age. 

Student Black Friday & Cyber Monday habits

Students were more likely to make Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases for clothing and footwear (55.05%) and health and beauty (44.95%), compared to non-students (50.8% and 33.8% respectively). They’re also less likely than the general population to make Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases in all other categories. 

Students were also the most likely group to pay for goods using cash (12.84%) and the least likely to use credit cards (16.51%). They’re also more than twice as likely to fund their Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending using store cards and gift cards (2.75%) than the general population (1.1%). 

Students seek higher discounts from the sales, reporting 41-50% as the most likely discount bracket to convince them to buy (29.36%). 

Finally, students were the happiest to shop in-store and online (43.12%) than either one exclusively.