Black Friday hasn’t won over UK cycle trade yet

Despite increasing headlines being devoted to it, the Black Friday sales day phenomenon has some way to go to dominate the UK bike trade.

While a number of well known cycle retailers – like Rutland Cycling, Bike Republic, Halfords and Velorution – have run sales as part of the Black Friday trend over past years, a straw poll run by BikeBiz has found a limited amount of interest in the US-founded sales day, taking place annually on the first Friday after Thanksgiving – this year on November 27th.

The majority of retailer respondents to the BikeBiz poll said they would not be taking part in the Black Friday phenomenon (64 per cent). Just over a quarter said they were planning to capitalise on Black Friday by running sales and special offers for the day, while just under ten per cent said they were undecided about taking part in the sales day, traditionally seen to signal the Christmas consumer buying season in North America.

Perhaps the limited enthusiasm for Black Friday can be partly attributed to a retail event targeted at the small, local shops that dominate in the cycle trade – Small Business Saturday. This year the grassroots scheme runs on December 5th – with download packs, posters and more to help retailers make the most of the initiative and encourage consumers to visit family businesses, local shops, small manufacturers and similar.

According to a poll by Consumer Intelligence, more than six in ten UK adults will be looking for deals on Black Friday. However 30 per cent of asults are Black Friday refuseniks and wish the US tradition has never made it across the Atlantic.