According to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, like-for-like sales dipped 0.5% last November compared to the year beforehand.

Black Friday is now viewed as an increasingly digital event. The BRC said one in every three pounds spent last November was spent online, an all-time high.

However, even online sales were a let-down. Sales rose 6.8% over Black Friday, according to IMRG, however, the trade body had expected it to be “in the mid-teens”, according to its director of data and retail Matthew Walsh.

Despite the lukewarm Black Friday last year, retailers are still committed to the discounting event.