Brits will risk their jobs for Black Friday bargains, says survey

According to a survey, 57% of Black Friday shoppers would call in sick to bag a bargain on Friday (November 25).

And almost two-thirds (63%) of Brits would consider booking annual leave to get the best Black Friday deals.

WatchShop, a leading independent retailer of brand name designer watches, surveyed 2,000 Brits about their spending plans for Black Friday 2016 and discovered some surprising statistics.

One in three has witnessed scenes of in-store mob mentality on past Black Fridays, which has forced almost one in five shoppers to move online to avoid it this year.

In all, almost three-quarters of the UK will only shop online on Black Friday. They aim to be logged on and ready to go by 8.20am on average and finish at 2.12pm (nearly six hours).

One hour and 40 minutes is the time lapse that Brits expect to wait in online queues. But they are prepared to queue online for three hours if it means getting a 31% discount.

Just 11% say they will shop at high street stores for bargains this Black Friday. 8.45am is the time Brits will arrive at stores and 9.47am is the time they expect to queue to until they enter shops. But Brits are prepared to queue for three hours in-store if it means getting a 33% discount.

The results show that Brits don’t mind having altercations with staff for a bargain either. The average Black Friday shopper would do this to get a 25% discount. And one in five admits a 10% discount is all they would need to queue-jump in store.

A total of 40% of respondents said they had already saved a Black Friday pot of money in preparation. So who are the biggest Black Friday bargain hunters?

Those in the West Midlands are the most likely to have experienced Black Friday chaos but are still the most likely to shop in-store despite this. One in six shop offline and are the most impatient when they do, willing to queue for only one hour 19 minutes.

Norther Irish shoppers are the most likely to save money in the lead-up to Black Friday – almost half (49%) do this. And shoppers in this region will get up earliest this Black Friday (6.30am) and get to the stores earliest (8.18am). NI residents are the biggest queuers; willing to wait in a queue in-store for an average of one hour and 43 minutes. They will wait online for two hours and five minutes.

Scots will stay at the shops the latest (3.34pm) and East Anglian shoppers are the most likely to go online (77%).

http://www.watchshop.com/watchnews/Black-Friday-2016-In-Numbers$801742333.html