It’s that time of year again, Christmas is approaching and every social feed morphs into a shopping list of what we should be buying for friends, family, pets and of course, don’t forget something for you too. These sales are now launched on Black Friday, which over the past few years has grown from what was originally an American tradition, to become a UK shopping frenzy.
Since its introduction to the UK by Amazon in 2010, Black Friday has snowballed, with spending in 2015 exceeding £1 billion. This looks set to increase further in 2016 as the occasion splurges into a five day online shopping frenzy from Thursday through to Cyber Monday.
Is Black Friday really all it’s cracked up to be?
For many people, Black Friday provides a great opportunity to buy something they need at a price they can afford. For others, it’s a time of temptation and pressure to buy things they don’t want or even need.
Latest polling by Hubbub UK has revealed two thirds of people don’t enjoy taking part in Black Friday and half feel uncomfortable with the concept. The pressure to take part is highest for the under-35s with four in ten feeling pressured to join in and half saying Black Friday encourages them to buy things they don’t need. 45% have spent money they couldn’t afford because there was a sale on and 70% have bought sale items they’ve never used.
Research by Which? has also revealed that only 8% of Black Friday deals from last year were cheapest on Black Friday itself. It’s essential that people are warned of this and do their research to check they are actually getting the deal they think they are – as recommended by Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis [http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/black-friday-and-cyber-monday-alert-service].
The alterative?
The pressure to buy your way to a better life has never been stronger and is a contributing factor to UK household debts hitting £1.5 trillion for the first time – UK adults now owe an average of £3,737 in loans and credit cards.
Yet when we asked people what makes them happy and what the best gift they’ve ever been given was – almost everybody responded with spending time with friends and family and having experiences rather than ‘stuff’. 96% of people told us they would rather do something other than shopping with a free day. We saw an opportunity to remind people of this at a time when the pressure to buy is at it’s highest – and so we created #BrightFriday.
#BrightFriday offers an antidote to Black Friday by encouraging people to experience something new, rekindle love for what they already have and resist the pressure of buying things they don’t want or need. Remember, the best bargain is not buying stuff you didn’t want in the first place.
This year the #BrightFriday festival is taking place in Brighton between 21-27th November. A series of styling events, fashion swap shops, making and mending workshops, comedy nights and improvisation taster classes will inspire people to try something new and extend the life of their clothes rather than buying new this Black Friday.
Blogs sharing top fashion tips for breathing new life into your wardrobe without needing to spend money will also be shared nationally. As will the ‘FAUX’ alternative fashion magazine, which playfully highlights the veneer thin credibility of fast fashion messages, encouraging readers to take a different perspective to a throwaway culture.
The ambition is to build on Bright Friday next year, with more events across the country. We hope Bright Friday reminds people that happiness and memories don’t have to be bought from a store.
Join Bright Friday: www.hubbub.org.uk.
Heather Poore
Heather is co-founder of environmental charity Hubbub UK. With a background in climate science and a love for art, she is passionate about using design and photography to create compelling communications that engage people in environmental issues around topics relevant to our daily lives, like fashion and food.
Prior to Hubbub, Heather led the pioneering Greenprint 2020 project, helping young people set out their vision for a better future and engaging 4,500 of their peers to take part in environmental projects and events. Heather was recognised for this work by winning the prestigious Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) graduate of the year award. Heather to run sustainability programmes within Telefonica, Accenture, Lloyds Banking Group, British Gas and the University of Creative Arts.
from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/who-gets-the-best-deal-at-black-friday/
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