BLACK Friday next week will see Britain’s biggest online spree, due to the Covid lockdown.
With non-essential shops shut until December 2, web spending on November 27 is set to hit a record £1.93billion — 70 per cent up on last year.
An army of more than 150,000 couriers is in place to deliver the goods, but experts say huge demand will trigger hold-ups and some orders may not arrive before Christmas.
Royal Mail has already seen week-long parcel delays and retail insiders say social distancing in warehouses is adding to waits.
Prof Joshua Bamfield, from the Centre for Retail Research, said: “The big increase in delivery demand will be difficult to satisfy.
“If shoppers who order later have still not received deliveries the week before Christmas, they’ll be biting their fingernails.”
A VoucherCodes.co.uk study says this Black Friday will beat the £1.5billion online spending record on Cyber Monday — the first in December — last year.
Delivery firms have recruited an extra 67,000 staff in preparation. But Mike Hancox, chief exec of Yodel, said: “It’s been like Christmas for six months – and we now expect another 20 per cent on top.”
Professor Joshua Bamfield added: “If shoppers who order later have still not received deliveries the week before Christmas, they’ll be biting their fingernails.
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CLUCKING GOOD
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RETAIL CHAOS
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“Social distancing in warehouses is also limiting retailers.
“Black Friday’s online spending will see a massive increase on last year, due to most shops being closed.
“But essential retailers such as supermarkets also sell Christmas products so will do good business on Black Friday.
Bargainista saves £161 on early Black Friday deals using this unknown discount site
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
