Spending for Manic Monday (7th Dec) and key retail dates post-Christmas were also predicted to rise above last year’s figures.
James Miller, senior retail consultant at Experian Marketing Services, said: “The weekend saw record-breaking spend online in the UK, with £3.3 billion spent online across the four days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. This year, Cyber Monday saw sales growth by 34% to £968 million, continuing the trend for massively growing spend and showing that consumers have fully embraced this online shopping phenomenon.
“This year, retailers have stretched Black Friday and Cyber Monday into a longer period, with many offering deals across the week running up to Black Friday and continuing to reduce more products on Saturday, Sunday and Cyber Monday. In future, this nine-day period will become a key phase which very much kick-starts the Christmas shopping season for those relatively well-off families who have busy lives and want to get their purchases in early and delivered before Christmas – retailers will also appreciate the opportunity to spread out the event to maximise their campaigns via email and social media.
“Retailers still have more opportunities to reach customers in the run up to Christmas, with Manic Monday on 7th December representing the time when consumers look to order gifts to ensure they receive them before Christmas, before the traditional Boxing Day sales begin. With logistics companies working hard to fulfil orders placed over the last four days this is a crucial time, with missed deliveries costing both money and consumer patience.”
The full breakdown for spending across the Black Friday weekend was:
Black Friday: £1.1 billion (£763K per min)
Saturday 28th: £561 million (£389K per min)
Sunday 29th: £676 million (£469K per min)
Cyber Monday: £968 million (£672K per min)
Predicted spend for the remainder of the retail season:
Manic Monday (7th Dec) – £733 million up 10% yoy (£666m)
Christmas Day (25th Dec) – £728 million up 11% yoy (£658m)
Boxing Day (26th Dec) – £856 million up 22% yoy (£699m)
New Year’s day (1st Jan) – £638 million up 33% yoy (£478m)
