The Black Friday weekend has come to an end, and many have gone to the high streets or leading online shops to snap up the deals that have been presented to them.
It is without a doubt the largest retail phenomenon of the calendar year.
However, with this year, the cost of living has affected many households and logically speaking consumerism should see a significant drop, however Statista has predicted a total spend of over £13 billion GBP this year, an increase from previous years.
Individually the prediction allocates an average spend of £278 per person in the UK, which for many is not a small amount. This statistic truly emphasises the influence that events like this have on us as a society and as consumers.
So, what drives this crazed shopping spree and is it really worth the money?
The term ‘Black Friday’ was coined by the Philadelphia police department in the 1950s due to the chaos and extreme methods shoppers used to beat the queues.
This may bring into the light the insanity of the event, where in some cases people have put items as a priority over themselves or others.
Many business have taken advantage of this annual craze and put considerable time and effort into promotion with companies such as Amazon having a whole Black Friday week opposed to just a weekend.
A study by the BBC researched if Black Friday deals are worth the hassle, to which they concluded that ‘nine in 10 of the deals analysed were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year’.
Some companies have even gone as far as rising their prices in the period before Black Friday, to then lower them again to create an illusion of discount.
So, if the deals aren’t what they say on the tin, then maybe Black Friday is more of a social phenomenon, that isn’t about the discounts and more about mass consumerism for the sake of it.
