Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Last year there were chaotic scenes up and down the country on Black Friday but this year there has been a much quieter start.

So have we already seen peak Black Friday?

David Blair of global brand consultancy Fitch points out that Asda and Primark have pulled out of Black Friday altogether and clothing retailer Fat Face isn’t participating, but instead is giving £250,000 to charity.

Meanwhile, in the US outdoors equipment retailer REI has closed down for the day, to give staff a day off.

Mr Blair says in the US it works because of the Thanksgiving holiday which sees most Americans take the Friday off as well to create a long weekend break.

The fact that Asda has pulled out of Black Friday in the UK suggests its US parent company Wal-Mart  doesn’t think Black Friday has a future in the UK, he adds.

Image source, The Times

Should the purity of Black Friday be respected?

The Times reports: "Companies have begun to take a liberal understanding of Black Friday by starting with some offers the evening before, and carrying them on to what known as Cyber Monday."

Is nothing sacred?  

Image source, Daily Mail

Rupert Steiner in the Mail is calling the end of Black Friday, external.

He quotes a report from consultancy LCP suggesting one-third of retailers think it is unprofitable and unsustainable (which presumably means two-thirds think it's great).

Anyway, the message clearly hasn't got through to the rest of the paper, which is running a 12-page guide to bagging the best bargains.

BBC Breakfast

Shoppers made an orderly entrance to Currys in Brentford, where Ben Thompson is reporting from for the BBC.

Away from Black Friday, the Chinese markets have tumbled. BBC business reporter Victoria Fritz tweets:

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Mark Elliot of MBNA tells Today there is a north/south divide when it comes to Black Friday with shoppers in the north of England and Scotland more engaged than people who live in the south of England. Women have historically been more interested in the shopping day he adds, although men are "catching up". 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

What about the logistics of Black Friday? Online now accounts for 15% of total retail sales in the UK, says Mark Charlton head of research at Colliers International.

He tells Today the growth in online retailing is creating huge demand for large warehouses.

There is also a demand for more warehousing in cities to enable retailers to cope with consumer demand for one hour delivery slots, for example.

There are competing interests in major cities between multi-storey warehouses and the need to build housing.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Gary Booker of Carphone Dixons tells Today that by 04:00 today the retailer already had "well over 100 reserve and collect" orders.

Mark Elliot, corporate affairs officer at MBNA  says there has been a "massive increase in online" retailing since 2008. 

Around £800m was spent online last year and he says analysts expect over £1bn to be spent online today.

Customers are making fewer weekend shopping trips, thanks to online shopping he said.

"That trip into the shopping centres at the weekend is becoming less of a phenomenon, " he says.

BBC Breakfast

The BBC's Ben Thompson reports from Currys in Brentford and asks shoppers what they are looking for.  

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Gary Booker of Carphone Dixons says the retailer has got 40% more stock in to cope with the number of shoppers, although Carphone Dixons has been running a ‘Black Week’ in the run up to today.

But he admits that the cheapest prices that consumers will find in the year will still be on Boxing Day.

“What we know is that Black Friday is great we love it and we know that customers love it as well,“  he tells Today.

So it looks like a quiet start to Black Friday on Bond Street. Our thanks to Panmure Gordon's David Buick for this pic.

A colleague tells the Business live page that there are plenty of TV crews on London's Oxford Street, but so far not many shoppers.

He was walking between Bond Street and Oxford Street.

BBC Radio 5 Live

"This year is when it (Black Friday) is going to evolve - last year caught everyone by surprise," said Andy Mulcahy, editor of IMRG, an online retail association.

Last year sales were 30% higher than his "punchy" forecast.

Black Friday divides shoppers "like nothing else" he has ever seen. Many people hate it.

Retailers are divided as well, last year some "panicked" when sales were weak in the lead up to Black Friday, he said on Wake Up To Money.

Mr Mulcahy reminds us that last year delivery operations were overwhelmed.

Black Friday emerged in the US and was originally a way for retailers to get rid of unwanted stock. 

But it's now a feature elsewhere in the world.

Click on the picture below for reports from around the world.

BBC business reporter Emma Simpson tweets from Currys in Brent Cross:

BBC Radio 5 Live

Wake Up To Money presenter Adam Parsons is reporting from a Curry's/PC World in Brentford West London. 

The store opened at 06:00 and people are already gathering at 05:25.

Spending records are expected in stores and online today, say Adam.

Ebay is expecting 9 milllion UK customers to log on to its site today.

However some retailers, including Asda are not taking part.