Falling retail sales set stage for a tough Black Friday
- Retail sales volumes fall in October to the lowest level since Feb 2021
- Non-food stores sales volumes fell by 0.2% due to the cost of living, reduced footfall and wet weather
- Stage is set for a tough Black Friday for retailers on November 24.
- We’re expected to spend £5.6 billion on deals – less than the £7.1 billion we spent last year.
- What this means for shoppers – seven scams to swerve
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:
‘’With many consumers feeling the pinch of higher bills and worrying that mortgage payments and rents will shoot higher, it’s not surprising that the purse strings have been drawn tighter. This is a super-tough environment for retailers given that this risk-averse sentiment to big spending is coming at such a crucial time in the calendar, which should be the cash-cow quarter for retailers. Stores with a focus on furniture and homeware are already facing a torrid time, with household goods sales down 1.1% and big-ticket items will continue to be harder to shift. Our spend on clothing too dipped back, by 0.9% as consumers were in no rush to update wardrobes.
It means retailers are going to have to work even harder to lure in shoppers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There will be hope some have just been standing on the sidelines, waiting for the deals to land. Get set for a promotional frenzy hitting your inbox and surging across social media. The outcome of these flash sales will be telling, both in terms of volumes sold and the average price cuts needed to get the tills ringing and it looks inevitable that already tight margins will be sacrificed further. Many stores are also grappling with a rise in shoplifting so security will be even higher around big-ticket items and online retailers are bracing for a wave of e-commerce crime. Fraud prevention platform Ravlin has found that over a third of internet shoppers committed fraud within the last 12 months. Mainly they try and game the system by taking advantage of, returns or refunds so they get more than they should without paying, and these tactics are expected to increase around the big promotional weekend.
What this means for shoppers – seven scams to swerve
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown:
“You might think the biggest risk on Black Friday is getting carried away and spending more than you meant to on something you don’t need. However, there are some much biggest risks out there. It’s not just the shops that have been gearing up for the shopping spectacular: scammers are redoubling their efforts too.’’
It’s a field day for scammers, because so many people are shopping, and they’re in a hurry to bag the best bargains. It means they can be persuaded by scams that make it look like you can’t join in on the day. They can also be led into purchasing scams from fake websites to counterfeit goods. And because there’s a decent chance they’ve bought things from a big retailer, they can fall foul of the follow-up scams too. It means it’s worth knowing the risks, so you can spot a scam before it happens.
- Account problem scams
Amazon recently warned against this, because scammers send emails saying you need to take action or your account will be suspended – and you’ll miss out on Black Friday. It comes with an email attachment, where the real danger lurks. Email attachment scams like this take you to the scammer’s website and get you to input sensitive data. Amazon says they’ve doubled in the second half of this year. Other scammers phone or email asking for this data instead to ‘rectify a problem on your account’. Amazon would never contact you like this. They are all scams.
- Fake ‘order notifications’
The scammers send out something they call an ‘order notification’, claiming you have bought something from a reputable retailer – usually something expensive. When you panic and click on a link to cancel the order, they’ll ask for your card details in order to refund the cash to your card. Once you hand those details over, they have what they need to take your money. If you’re worried by a message and want to be on the safe side, open a new browser window and check your account with the retailer to see if there’s a new order.
- Fake websites
These will be set up to cash in on the day. Sometimes they’ll specifically offer something they know is in massive demand at the time – especially those things that are hard to get hold of. They’ll set a tempting price, in the hope that all this persuades you to buy from a company you don’t know. Once you’ve handed over your payment details, they’ll disappear with your money. The best way to protect yourself is to assume anything with an unbelievable offer, is taking you for a ride.
- Website clones
This, slightly more sophisticated, version of the same scam will copy the website of a big-name retailer, with a subtly different web address, so you could find yourself shopping with an imposter who is just after your payment details. It pays to check the website address carefully.
- Counterfeit goods
These are rife at all times – particularly on social media and auction sites – however, we may be more likely to fall for them during Black Friday, when the knock-down price may seem more plausible. The usual rules apply about checking the item carefully, and avoiding deals that seem to be too good to be true.
- Payment failure scams
Criminals will exploit the fact you’ve probably bought something from a big retailer, so they send spam to everyone, claiming their purchase with a big brand name has failed, and getting them to click on an attachment taking them to a fake version of the website in order to input their card details again. If you’re concerned, open a separate browser window – or use the retailer app – to check your order history.
- Delivery scams
These are very common all year, but there’s a real focus around Black Friday because so many people buy online. The scammers send emails or texts, claiming to be from the delivery company and asking you to reschedule delivery or pay an extra fee. This is designed either to get your personal details or your card information. The best option is to avoid giving anyone either when they contact you out of the blue.
