More shoppers plan to use Black Friday deals to stock up for Christmas

From a survey of 2,017 people, 40% of shoppers said they were planning to do “most” of their Christmas shopping over the Black Friday weekend, according to data from McKinsey & Company.

By comparison, 28% of respondents said they planned on doing most of their Christmas shopping after Black Friday, compared to 37% in 2022.

McKinsey senior partner Anita Balchandani said: “We’re seeing the boundaries between Black Friday and Christmas blur. We’re also seeing people use Black Friday as a big chance to get deals that they can use to fund part of their Christmas shopping.”

In more good news for retailers, four times fewer shoppers are planning to opt out from buying presents this Christmas compared to last year – with just 3% of respondents abstaining this year, compared to 12% in 2022.

Given the cost-of-living crisis that has dominated the year, with inflation reaching historic peaks during 2023, the data shows the majority of consumers will be looking to spend within their means this Christmas.

The data shows 52% of people will not be splurging for Christmas this year, compared to 22% who said they would splurge for “key people” in their lives.

The pinch people are feeling is not because they think their incomes are shrinking but because many people are eating into their savings to cover expenses.

Alongside stocking up on Christmas gifts, McKinsey found consumers will also be looking closely at Black Friday deals and will take advantage of offers – 29% of respondents said they would do some spontaneous shopping, with another 20% looking to buy Christmas food and stock up on items they would normally buy at lower prices.

Balchandani said while the number of consumers ready to spend over Black Friday will be a boost for retailers, it could flatten out overall spending across the festive period.

She said: “We think that it’s going to be a bigger golden quarter period this year than last if you’re in the grocery world. If you’re in a non-food category, we think trading is going to be driven more around deal activity with consumers on bargain-hunting missions.

“We’re expecting to see some spend being pulled forward from Christmas into Black Friday more than we’ve seen in the past, driven by that promotional angle.”