Black Friday: Analysis and reaction

Summary

Black Friday: UK stores see slow trading
Online Black Friday shopping 'busier' than last year
Asda cuts petrol price to below £1 a litre
Disney weighs on Wall Street after ESPN loses 3 million subscribers

Live Reporting

Tom Espiner

Slow startpublished at 10:31 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
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Where have all the shoppers gone?published at 10:17
Retail Week content editor tweets
A few magazines have sent intrepid journalists out to have a look for shoppers, such as Retail Week's Nicola Harrison. She's not found many in the Westfield shopping centre in London's Shepherd's Bush. You can feel her earlier optimism fading.
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UK economic slowdown 'temporary'published at 10:01
The latest UK growth figures confirmed that the economy slowed to 0.5% from 0.7% in the second quarter.
Scott Bowman, UK economist at Capital Economics thinks that slowdown will be temporary as there is "solid" real wage growth, low interest rates and high confidence.
But he warns:
Quote Message
Admittedly, the overall economic recovery still has some obstacles to overcome in the coming quarters, including uncertainty ahead of the EU referendum and a renewed fiscal squeeze. "
Black Friday: Customers choose sleeppublished at 09:47
The BBC's Emma Simpson has been speaking to the manager of a big store selling household goods. He says that customers have been waking up in the middle of the night, ordering online and then going back to bed, knowing that they can collect from the store later.
Black Friday wash outpublished at 09:40
Kantar Wordpanel senior vice president tweets
One of the bosses of retail analysts Kantar Wordpanel has gone out in search of shoppers in central London. He's not had much luck.
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UK economic growth confirmed at 0.5%published at 09:33
UK economic growth in the three months to the end of September was 0.5% the second estimate from the Office for National Statistics, external shows. That's unchanged from the first estimate.
Websites struggling to cope with demand?published at 09:30
A number of retail websites were struggling to cope with customer demand at 08:00 according to an online tracker provided by IT consultants Capacitas., external
We tried a couple of the retailers it was monitoring and they seemed to be coping fine now.
The data from Capacitas may suggest shoppers are staying out of physical stores and looking for bargains online.
Reform of business rates on the way?published at 09:16 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of Ann Summers tweets:
Christmas shopping donepublished at 09:05
BBC producer Danielle Codd caught up with one Black Friday shopper.
Rina Obhrai from West London bought five electrical items in one go at Currys in Brentford north west London.
"I've done all my Christmas shopping now, I may buy a laptop, but that's it I'm done," she told Danielle.
Russia imposes sanctions on Turkeypublished at 08:53
BBC Business Live
On Business Live this morning they're discussing Russia's sanctions on Turkey with Sir Andrew Wood from Chatham House, formerly British Ambassador to Russia.
Quote Message
It [Russia] has developed the habit of slapping sanctions and food sanctions on everybody. They're extremely unpopular with the Russian population because, it may seem trivial, but depriving yourself of tomatoes altogether is quite a blow to quite a lot of people."
Meanwhile, Gennady Onishchenko, a former food safety chief who now advises Russia's prime minister was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying: "Every Turkish tomato bought in [supermarket chain] Auchan or at the market is a contribution toward the next rocket to be fired at our guys.''
Miners drag FTSE 100 lower againpublished at 08:49
London's FTSE 100 is 0.5% lower this morning at 6362.61 with miners dragging the index down.
Anglo American shares are nearly 4% lower, followed by Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore which are all down between 1.75% and 2%.
Despite it being Black Friday very few retailers feature in the top performing stocks. Debenhams however is one of them up 1.2%. Supergroup as also higher by 1.5%.
Black Friday: 'Busier online' than last yearpublished at 08:45
BBC Breakfast
Mark Elliott from the credit card company, MBNA tells BBC Breakfast that early indications suggest that online shopping has been busier this year than last year.
Meanwhile Miya Knights from Planet Retail explains the logistical challenges of Black Friday.
Click on the picture below for more.
Media caption,
Black Friday: 'Busier online' than last year
Black Friday: December spending 'bought forward'published at 08:26
Here's the view of retail analyst Nick Bubb:
Quote Message
Well, it looks as if Black Friday spending has been more spread out this year and more weighted to online, but every indication is that the combined event will be bigger than last year overall. However, as that will merely represent spending sucked forward from December, it is too soon to say whether the Retail sector will be any better off in net terms once the dust settles."
Special escort for bacon and eggs shopperpublished at 08:23 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
Retail Week food and property reporter, Luke Tugby tweets:
House price growth slowspublished at 08:18
Image source, PA
The pace of house price growth slowed in November, according to the latest Nationwide house price index, external.
The average price across the UK edged up 0.1% in the month to £196,305. That's 3.7% up on the same point last year.
Those figures compare with October, when there was a monthly rise of 0.5% and an annual rate of 3.9%.
Black Friday: 'Overwhelming disapproval'published at 08:16 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
Shanghai shares tumblepublished at 08:13
Image source, Reuters
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 5.5%.
The falls came after two of China's biggest brokerages: Guosen Securities and Citic Securities announced they were being investigated by regulators.
Citic said the investigations followed inquiries into several of its executives for insider trading.
Haitong Securities also halted trading of its shares: "pending the release of an announcement which may constitute inside information".
Black Friday: 'Encouragement to greed'published at 08:06
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, says he likes the idea of Buy Nothing Day which is being celebrated in over 65 countries around the world as an antidote to Black Friday. He explains Thought for the Day:
Quote Message
Buy nothing Friday is a reaction to what has become known as Black Friday: a day of mass consumerism rooted in encouragement to greed, as opposed to Good Friday, which roots us in self-denial and loss rather than self-fulfillment at all costs. Black Friday is a transatlantic import that many hoped would die the death of British good taste and a sense of proportion. But it seems to have taken hold in a culture whose consumerist monster can never be overfed."
Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds
Black Friday: 'Pretty quiet'published at 07:59 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
Wake Up To Money presenter Adam Parsons tweets:
Ben's survey sayspublished at 07:47 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2015
Ben Thompson from BBC Breakfast has a result from his unscientific poll of who is shopping today. Presumbably those already in the shops are less likely to tweet ...