The beginning of December means one thing in retail – the countdown to Christmas has well and truly begun! Unless you somehow managed to avoid all major high street shops or their online counterparts last week then you won’t have failed to notice the beginning of the Christmas sales, starting in dramatic fashion with Black Friday. What originated in the US as a ‘holiday sales’ day after Thanksgiving, similar to the Boxing Day sales seen in the UK, wound its way over to these shores by online giant Amazon in 2010. And it’s getting bigger every year.
John Lewis is one of the key retailers involved in promoting Black Friday deals. In 2013 they saw the traffic on their website increase by 1340% between 7 am and 8 am the day after Thanksgiving when compared to the same period the previous year. It was a similar story for ASDA as on 29th November 2013 it took just 45 minutes to sell a month’s worth of Televisions. Amazon shareholders also has cause to celebrate as they set a new UK sales record in 2013 when they received 4 million orders in a single day – this year saw them add another one and a half million orders to that figure and subsequently smash their own record.
Black Friday continues to grow in popularity with both shoppers and retailers alike – 2014 saw Sainsbury’s take part for the first time by creating over 480 offers around their stores whilst consumers faced around a 30 minute wait in an online queue just to get onto the Currys/PC World website.
But it’s not just Black Friday that is driving customers to find the best bargains; Cyber Monday (1st December 2014) is also predicated to have huge implications on shops sales figures with experts suggesting that around £600 million will be spent online in one day.
So what makes it so popular?
With many people receiving their last pay day before the Christmas holidays and retailers offering such huge discounts on big ticket items it seems like the perfect time to pick up those early presents from the comfort of your own home.
Shoppers spent £91 billion online in 2013 which accounts for around 19.9% of retail in the UK and that figure is expected to grow in the coming years. While this is all good news for the shops sellinggoods online it can add pressure to delivery services having to ensure that all these items are delivered.
Large delivery companies such as DHL and FedEx take on additional drivers over the Christmas period, many of which are self-employed using their own vehicle and being paid per delivery. Keeping your van or truck on the road during this time is essential to be able to meet the demand of same and next day delivery items that many online stores offer. EMS Truck & Trailer Parts are specialist retailers who supply parts for all different types of vehicles to ensure that vans and trucks are able to continue with their Christmas delivery.
EMS Truck & Trailer Parts
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