But that doesn't appear to be what Black Friday is about. Little in the way of discounts are to be found. They are playing the game when it comes to being able to advertise something at a discounted price.
We shouldn't look for discounts - we should look for value.
What is the premise?
Black Friday is a non-event in the UK. What is really at stake here is your Christmas cash. There is only so much to go around, so retailers put events on like this to secure it as soon as possible. Generally if you get all of your presents, you will stop shopping. This is the same for most people whether you get all you need before December or on Christmas Eve.So if they can secure your cash early, then you won't go and spend it somewhere else. This is the sole reason Black Friday has been imported to the UK. It soaks up your money as early as possible. Retailers want to hit their targets nice and early and avoid the rush to genuinely cut prices in the weeks or days before Christmas.
Where do independent retailers fit into this?
With so much competition from the big boys, the small independent retailers can get lost in all of this. We tend to associate Christmas with the big stores and the smaller ones fall by the wayside. The Christmas adverts all over the TV are for -- John Lewis
- Amazon
- M&S
- Argos
And the smaller retailers don't have the money to compete.
But there is Small Business Saturday on 2nd December that is deigned to remind people to shop locally. If you are an independent retailer then try to get your share of trade this Christmas by reminding people about Small Business Saturday on your website, in your shop an on social media. Make an event of it, maybe get together with other local stores.
