Asda Say No To Black Friday Sales

Asda not to take part in Black Friday, saying that "shopper fatigue" has set in "around flash sales on big-ticket, non-essential items at Christmas."

16:49 11 November 2015

Asda helped bring back Black Friday to the United Kingdom in 2013 but has decided not to participate in the event that marks the beginning of the US Christmas. The supermarket cites customer fatigue, saying it reckons its customers want better savings across everyday Christmas items.

 

Asda chief executive Andy Clarke said: "The decision to step away from Black Friday is not about the event itself."

 

"Over the last two years we've developed an organised, well-executed plan, but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don't want to be held hostage to a day or two of sales."

 

Instead of investing in one-off sales, Asda said that it will invest £26m in savings across the seasonal shopping period.

 

Retail analyst Nick Bubb said that Asda’s decision does not mean the end of Black Friday. He said: "Despite the general recognition that too much discounting ruins Christmas trading prospects, it's not the end of Black Friday, because online players, such as Amazon, are fully committed to it, as well as stores like Currys and PC World.

 

"But Asda were clearly sensitive to the embarrassing scenes last year of people fighting over cheap TV sets in their supermarkets and wanted to avoid any risk of reputational damage.”