Black Friday - Neighbourhood Retailer

Motorists queue at Go stations for Black Friday cut price fuel

Linda Stewart — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 14:05:00 +0000

Long queues have formed outside Go filling stations in Northern Ireland after the company launched a cut price Black Friday offer on fuel.

Queues of cars lined Grand Parade in east Belfast as motorists waited to pick up the 20p a litre discount, while one Carrickfergus resident said the queue there was stretching back as far as the centre of town.

Northern Ireland fuel company Go slashed prices for the popular pre-Christmas discount day , offering deals on unleaded petrol and diesel which were sold at £1.19 per litre.

In an online post on their Facebook page, the firm said the drop in fuel prices is 20p discount, but added that there were soem restrictions on loading up with fuel, including a maximum fill.

“Black Friday DEAL…No Catch..Just HUGE savings!” Go said in their Facebook post.

“Maximum fill £100. Must be into vehicle tanks ONLY. No container/ storage tank fills allowed.

“There is a maximum fill of £100 and must be into vehicle tanks only with no container/ storage tank fills allowed. It’s being offered while stocks last.

The deal is available at A1 Banbridge, Armagh Ballynahinch, Cameron Stewarts, Carrickfergus, Cookstown, Crewcatt, Crumlin, Dunman, Grand Parade, Great Victoria Street, Lissan, Newell Stores, Portadown, Twin Spires and Yorkgate.”

A number of customers questioned why the price at some of the pumps remained at its usual value and were advised by Go to keep their receipts so that they could investigate.

There were also questions as to why the deal wasn’t available at stations in the north west, but a Go spokesperson said: “We have a company owned Go site in Killea, Co. Donegal where all year round the price is approximately 10- 15 pence per litre sterling cheaper.”

GO’s Black Friday deal comes as fuel prices continue to rise across the UK.

Record highs set in April 2012 were exceeded last month and prices have continued to increase since then.

The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Monday was 146.89p, according to Government statistics, while a litre of diesel was 150.73p.

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Nine in 10 Black Friday deals were same price or cheaper beforehand, finds Which? investigation

Linda Stewart — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 10:27:08 +0000

More than 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper in the six months before the sales event last year, a Which? investigation has found.

The consumer association warned shoppers to make sure the discounts were “truly genuine” ahead of this year’s sales.

It said 184 out of 201 items from six retailers, which included Amazon and John Lewis, were priced the same or cheaper before Black Friday in 2020.

Trading standards has warned that a deal “may not be what it’s all cracked up to be”. Katherine Hart, lead officer at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, added the “prospect of scams rears its ugly head” during the sales event, which takes place on Friday.

“It seems that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events get bigger every year, and many bargains can be found; however, we all must remain vigilant and practise shopping safety,” she added.

“Sometimes sellers raise their prices before a sales period to make it look like a great deal is on offer during the sale.”

Which? said popular items it found to be the same price or less before Black Friday last year included washing machines, soundbars and TVs.

It analysed items from Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis and Richer Sounds by looking at the prices offered by the companies every day during the six months before and after 2020’s Black Friday, as well as on the day itself.

“When looking at prices six months before and after Black Friday 2020, just one of the 201 products was at its cheapest price on Black Friday alone,” a Which? spokesperson said.

Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said it was important shoppers did research before diving into the sales.

“Take time to identify the products you really want and check that the ‘deal’ you’re seeing represents a genuine saving,” she said.

In response to Which?’s investigation, Amazon said it sought to “offer our customers great value thanks to low prices all year round” and that customers could “easily compare prices, allowing them to make an informed purchase decision”.

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Black Friday shoppers fear transport problems will hit stocks of bargains

Linda Stewart — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 14:32:08 +0000

Around one in four people are worried that the products they want to buy on Black Friday – November 26 – could be out of stock due to transport issues.

A poll by YouGov found that 26% of people are concerned that the products they hope to purchase during the discount shopping event on November 26 will not be for sale due to the lorry driver crisis.

Young adults aged 18 to 24 are the most concerned, with just over two-fifths (42%) agreeing, according to the poll of more than 2,100 people across the UK carried out between October 8 and 11.

More than half (61%) of the respondents said they are still shopping online more than they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramped up

Comparison website PriceRunner, which commissioned the research, said its own analysis of more than 12,000 products sold on Black Friday last year found that prices for around one in five had been ramped up and then reduced in time for the sale.

It said its analysis of price trends this year has also found that some prices have already started to go up ahead of Black Friday.

Christine Gouldthorp, consumer expert at PriceRunner, said people should not panic and buy items they do not need.

She predicted that some retailers may avoid lowering prices on some popular products that are hard to get on shelves, in order to not run out of stock completely and disappoint consumers.

“My advice is to expect the unexpected this year,” she said

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that, despite supply chain issues, there will be a “good amount of Christmas presents available” this year.

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Retailers to be hit with Black Friday blues

Beth Mason — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 09:53:30 +0000

Research suggests shoppers are losing interest in Black Friday promotions.

The spending spree that traditionally marks Black Friday is a critical sales day for many retailers. However recent figures from Retail Economics and Retail Week suggest only 19 per cent of shoppers plan on taking advantage of promotions this year.

While 46 per cent of retailers reported they are expecting higher demand this Friday, a meagre 11 per cent of consumers said they intend on spending more on goods this year, research from Retail Economics suggests. Just under a quarter of shoppers reported a sense of disillusionment with Black Friday promotions, while 42 per cent felt deals were worsening year-on-year.

While younger consumers expressed the highest interest in exploiting the annual promos, levels of interest were down markedly on the previous year. Of the consumers who said they intended to shop on Black Friday, 62 per cent expected to spend less and 27 per cent said they would spend the same amount.

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “Acceleration on last year’s trends is expected with a third of consumers saying that they would do more of their Black Friday shopping online. This shift in spending is anticipated by retailers, three quarters of who thought online would be more popular this year.”

However, Mr Lim also identified the potential benefits of a customer base that are gravitating away from singular shopping sprees, towards more balanced expenditure.

“Fading demand for Black Friday is not necessarily a bad thing for retailers who would rather see incremental spend spread across the whole of the Christmas season than discounted sales pulled forward at the expense of future demand.

“It also eases pressure on capacity constraints for retailers who have previously struggled with crowded stores, failing websites and poor customer experiences”, he added.

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