By
Laura Donnelly
2:45PM GMT 29 Nov 2014
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Retailers say they have celebrated their busiest day ever after Black Friday “surpassed all expectations”.
Online store Amazon recorded orders for more than 5.5 million goods, while London’s Oxford Street said sales for the three-day weekend are expected to be up to 15 per cent up on the same period last year.
It followed scenes of chaos in many parts of the country.
Police were called to supermarkets across the UK as shoppers fought for discounted products, while the websites for Tesco, John Lewis, Currys and Argos all crashed under the weight of demand.
The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police said that he was “disappointed” about the measures taken by retailers to prepare for the influx of shoppers, while retail analysts warned that the reputation of companies could be damaged by the online failures.
Black Friday has traditionally been an American retail phenomenon that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving.
However, Amazon brought the promotional event into the UK in 2010 and this year most of Britain’s retailers offered discounts. The online retailer said that it had recorded orders for more than 5.5 million goods on Friday – with around 64 items sold per second. This surpassed the 4 million sold last black Friday, and a previous record of 4.1 million sales which was achieved on “Cyber Monday” last year – the first Monday after Thanksgiving.
Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon, Xavier Garambois, said: "Ever since we introduced Black Friday to the UK in 2010, sales have increased year on year but this year really has surpassed all of our expectations.
"The public's appetite for Black Friday has been bigger than ever, kicking off the Christmas shopping period in earnest and establishing Black Friday as a fixture on the UK Christmas shopping calendar."
Police had to step in to break up fights that erupted in the aisles of supermarkets offering huge price cuts on the annual promotions day, which has now emerged as one of Britain's busiest shopping days.
Retailers in Oxford Street reported a 20 per cent increase in visitors on Friday morning, compared with Black Friday last year.
New West End Company, which represents the shops in Oxford Street, said they were expecting sales for the three-day weekend to be between 10 and 15 per cent higher than the same period last year .
Jace Tyrrell, Deputy Chief Executive, of the company said on Saturday that stores were reporting “brisk trade” with forecasts now suggesting £150m will be spent over the three days.
He said: “We are really seeing the public embrace Black Friday – it’s becoming like Boxing Day for retailers. It used to be that this was mainly about technology products but it is far broader now, and we are seeing a lot of fashion sales.”
Mr Tyrell said on Saturday that Oxford Street was busy, but did not seem to be suffering from the outbreaks of violence in other parts of the country, as shoppers clamoured to get their hands on a bargain.
Retailers said the timing of Black Friday brought shoppers out in their hordes.
Ian Dallow of Debenhams in Oxford Street said, “The last Friday of November has always been a big shopping day, because it falls around the penultimate pay day before Christmas. Black Friday has made it even more exciting and this Friday will not disappoint, with plenty of fantastic opportunities to find the perfect Christmas gift.
Asda is among the retailers extending the offers today after more than 2 million people visited its stores yesterday, sparking chaos and violence in some branches over discounted TVs.
Huge demand saw shoppers struggling to access the websites of Tesco Direct, Currys, Argos and GAME yesterday.
One of Britain's most senior police officers criticised retailers for their handling of the crowds which threatened to cause crushes and urged retailers to work with police in further sales events.
At least three people were arrested and a woman was hurt after being hit by a falling television, while some outlets were forced to shut to restore order.
Eyewitnesses described how bargain-hunters behaved "like animals" and likened scenes to "a war zone".
Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, whose force appealed to shoppers to "keep calm", said the events were "totally predictable" and that he was "disappointed stores did not have sufficient security staff on duty".
"This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers," he said.
"It does not help that this was in the early hours when police resources are already stretched.
"Across Greater Manchester large supermarkets already make significant demands on policing through calls to shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and thefts of fuel from their petrol stations - much of which is preventable.
"We just ask these stores to work with us to reduce the demands on policing and reduce the risks of disorder and crime."
After Metropolitan police were called to three Tesco branches in London following reports of large crowds in Edmonton, Willesden and Surrey Quays, Sergeant Paul Marshall said on Twitter: "Even on Black Friday shoving people to the floor so you can get £20 off a coffee maker is still an assault."
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://forum.smarthealthshop.com/news/137864-black-friday-retailers-say-its-busiest-day-record-telegraph-co-uk.html
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