Following months of consistent negative growth against a backdrop of continued challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis and postal strikes, Black Friday “brought retailers a small sigh of relief”.
According the IMRG Capgemini Sales Index, retailers collectively defied the odds and achieved +0.7% year-on-year growth in November. While that figure is low and suggests some customer hesitancy, it marks the first moment of positive-territory growth in the index since April 2021.
Traffic to online retail sites peaked at +2.7% year-on-year in the week commencing 13 November 2022, predominantly owed to early Black Friday activations, which were particularly strong across beauty, home and electrical products. However, there was a decline in traffic in the week commencing 20 November, at -6.1% year-on-year, signalling customers’ response to early campaigning.
As predicted, the number of retailers launching Black Friday campaigns was higher this year. However, the early activations did not deliver increased revenue. When comparing