Black Friday – an American low cost purchasing pageant that occurs on the Friday after Thanksgiving – has been exported world wide from China to the UK, and sees Brits spend about £3bn over the weekend splurge fest. However analysis carried out by Hold Britain Tidy has revealed 16.6 million UK adults (31%) say they ‘hate’ Black Friday, and 14.5 million (27%) would be part of a boycott in opposition to it.
Half of the adults polled imagine the occasion drives waste and pointless carbon emissions, and belief within the ‘offers’ accessible can also be waning. A 2025 YouGov survey discovered that 63% of individuals felt discouraged by what they noticed as deceptive or complicated reductions throughout Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Value of residing pressures are reinforcing the pattern as households have gotten extra selective about discretionary purchases, and November’s standard spending spike is turning into much less predictable.
“The waste our nation generates is a big concern all 12 months spherical, however is exacerbated at the moment of 12 months, as seemingly giant reductions persuade individuals to purchase objects they don’t want and may’t all the time afford,” mentioned Allison Ogden-Newton, Hold Britain Tidy’s chief government. “The general public are awakening to the concept that this stage of consumerism is environmentally and economically unsustainable.”
The identical change in mindset is shaping expectations for Christmas. New analysis from the monetary wellbeing firm Loqbox exhibits that 4 in 10 individuals plan to purchase fewer presents this 12 months. Solely 7% say presents are the spotlight of the season, with 63% saying that spending time with family members is the primary attraction.
The general public are awakening to the concept that this stage of consumerism is unsustainable
“The most effective reward you may give somebody may be not placing them beneath monetary stress within the first place,” mentioned Tom Eyre, CEO and co-founder of Loqbox, which carried out the survey. The findings comply with feedback from Martin Lewis, a number one client finance skilled, who lately instructed that households ought to “ban pointless Christmas presents” to ease monetary stress.
Households are responding in sensible methods equivalent to making presents reasonably than shopping for them, or skipping presents altogether in favour of shared actions.
Most important picture: Markus Spiske
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