Britons to spend £4.5 billion over Christmas period

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 10, 2017

British shoppers are prepared to spend a whooping £4.5 billion during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, with many saving for weeks for the sales extravaganza.

Londoners are expected to be the biggest Black Friday shoppers, planning to splash over £533 on average this year – more than £200 over the national average of £300, according to research by price comparison site Finder.com.

Shoppers in the South East plan to spend £362, while those residing in the West Midlands will spend the least (£188.11), followed by the North East (£191.11) and Wales (£192.14).

And Finder.com said the estimated £4.5 billion figure will probably be higher due to impulse purchases. “We know that impulse spending is a guilty pleasure for 86.5 percent of Brits, so considering £4.5 billion only takes into account planned purchases, we’re expecting a significant increase in Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending this year,” said CEO Jon Ostler.

The attractive discounts have led consumers to hold off spending in the lead-up to Black Friday, with an estimated 14.8 million consumers having deferred shopping on clothing, electronics, appliances and furniture until the release of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

One in eight of those that wait said they have held off from making purchases for over three months this year.