“Black Friday sales are hurting small businesses”

From air fryers to hair dryers, Black Friday sales have become increasingly common over the past decade.

But some small businesses argue that this tradition is having a negative impact on the high street, forcing traders to cut prices they cannot afford.

Mark Pullen runs Brick Shack, a Lego retail store that also offers activities for children.

He said: “We believe that Black Friday is a highly commercialized attempt by big businesses to extract much-needed funds from small retailers, and that it does nothing more than undermine our high street presence. It’s not even a thing.”

“This highlights that these retailers are likely already making a lot of money in the first place.”

The Brighouse-based business was founded in 2015 and Mr Pullen said that although it offers deals, “these tend to be linked to initiatives that encourage the acquisition of local businesses and support for small businesses”. said.

Black Friday originally marked the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, but in recent years the sales have extended into the weeks before and after, with Cyber ​​Monday driving millions of online sales.

According to Which?, shoppers spent an estimated £13.3 billion during the 2023 Black Friday sales.

But Rich Myers, owner of Leeds bakery Get Baked, said his company would never run a Black Friday sale.

He said: “This is a shady way for conglomerates to spend money they may not spend before Christmas.

“As a result, small businesses start thinking they need to cut their margins and do the same thing, so they’re really busy and not making a profit.”

Leeds-based social media expert Amy Downs advises small businesses on digital marketing.

Many of her customers rejected Black Friday deals, she said.

“The big problem for them is that they’re already offering the lowest prices possible, especially with everything that’s going on in the world right now, the current cost of living crisis.

“So offering to lower the price further means they are either losing money or not making a fair amount of money for their value.”

Research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Small Business Saturday, a campaign encouraging shoppers to use small businesses, found that 88% of respondents in Yorkshire and Humberside said it was important to support small businesses. I’m thinking.

Ms Downs said many of her customers supported the move to opt out of Black Friday.

She said: “We took the opposite approach by talking about it on social media.

“Some customers will talk about having to compete with big businesses and encouraging people to go support small businesses this weekend.

“Another client specializes in coaching people with ADHD and talks about issues that Black Friday can have on people with ADHD, such as money issues and impulsivity.

“When we talk to customers about this, people agree with them. And in fact, they want to support the decision, overwhelmingly so.”

Small Business Saturday was started as an alternative to more commercial transactions.

This annual event, which started in the UK in 2013, takes place one week after Black Friday weekend on December 7th.

Campaign director Michelle Ovens CBE said many small businesses were still “fighting to recover from the cost of living crisis and deal with ongoing challenges such as high costs and flat growth”.

The campaign says 26% of Yorkshire and Humberside residents plan to spend up to a quarter of their Christmas budget on small businesses this year.

Mr Ovens said: ‘It’s really encouraging to see such positive public sentiment across Yorkshire and Humberside.

“We need this to continue as it makes a huge difference in helping our region’s small and medium-sized businesses continue to operate and continue to provide incredible value to our economy, society and local communities as a whole. There is.”

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