The US-born shopping holiday, which originated as a post-Thanksgiving firing gun for Christmas shopping, has seen several UK printers and suppliers get involved with discounts and promotions on one of the UK’s largest shopping days of the year.
Following 2023’s ‘Beige Friday’, where sales fell 1.9% on 2022’s post-Covid bonanza, 2024 is predicted to be a return to form, according to Parcelhero head of consumer research, David Jinks.
He said: “We’re predicting consumers will flock back to Black Friday to get the most from the hefty discounts. In fact, major retailers such as Boots, Amazon, Argos and John Lewis have been running early bird special offers throughout November and these are reportedly getting a strong response.
‘It’s true that sales stuttered last month: volumes fell by -0.7% and the amount we spent also tumbled by -0.6%. However, all the signs are that November is already enjoying a big uptick. Brits have been tightening their belts for so long that they have run out of notches. They clearly feel it’s time to loosen up to make the most of some genuine discounts.”
Industry analyst PwC has likewise predicted a £7.1bn Black Friday spend, with statistics aggregator Statista even more positive at an estimated £9bn in sales across the UK.
Speaking to Printweek, Jinks added that 2024’s eCommerce spend has picked up since its post-Covid fall, consistently achieving around 27% of all retail sales in the UK.
“Black Friday is certainly worthwhile for UK businesses,” he said.
“It’s perfectly timed for Christmas: it may have been introduced in the US as a Thanksgiving event, but I’m sure UK retailers would have created such an event off their own bat eventually – and it doesn’t seem to cannibalise sales from December.”
While the focus is on consumer-facing brands like Amazon, which introduced the sale to the UK in 2010, Printweek has spotted several deals from print supply firms.
One trade printer, Route1, has offered double points on its membership reward scheme from the beginning of the week.
“This is actually the first time we’ve done a Black Friday promotion,” explained Macauley Hardeman, Route1’s marketing manager.
He told Printweek: “We brought in the reward scheme in August, so it’s totally new to us. It’s been going well so far this week, and we’ve had some good feedback. Tracking it through the week, we’ve seen a spike in people registering to claim their benefits, and have seen some strong sales.”
Perhaps the biggest discount rate Printweek has seen has been from Antalis, which has opted to cut prices on certain stocks, including Olin Design 120gsm and Claro Silk 250gsm by a whopping 80%.
Heat press and transfer printing kit manufacturer Stahls has likewise joined in the celebrations with flat $200 (£158) discounts on selected machinery, and 50% off first orders of its Inktra screen printed transfers.
“We offer Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales each year so businesses can take advantage of lower pricing to get ahead of new profit opportunities in 2025,” said Josh Ellsworth, group chief revenue officer at Stahls.
“With savings on quality equipment and innovative custom apparel technologies, decorators are prepared for short-term holiday orders, as well as the approaching spring busy season and beyond.”
Tradeprint has also put up discount codes, worth between 10-15% of total purchase.
Wide-format supplier Pyramid Display has also put up an offer for £10 off Briteline monomeric vinyl rolls, and toner firm Ghost White Toner is offering up to 60% off certain products for ‘Black Week’.
Deals for consumer print buyers are fewer and further between, with a significant number of web-to-print firms eschewing Black Friday promotions – though Vistapint’s sale of up to 60% off bestselling products until 2 December made it an outlier.
