Asda “stepping away” from Black Friday
Asda’s chief executive Andy Clarke has revealed that the supermarket will be stepping away from Black Friday this year, and instead offering its customers savings and promotions spread across the Christmas period. “The decision to step away from Black Friday is not about the event itself,” Clarke said in a statement posted on Asda’s website.
“Over the last two years we’ve developed an organised, well-executed plan, but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don’t want to be held hostage to a day or two of sales.”
Asda reportedly believes that shoppers are less enthused by “flash sales on big-ticket, non-essential items at Christmas” than they have been in previous years.
Some analysts have speculated that Asda may be keen to avoid the scenes of bargain-hunting shoppers jostling over discounted TVs which took place in supermarkets last year.
The supermarket’s primary motivation is probably more to do spreading the load more evenly over the Christmas period, which will make the logistics easier to manage and the “buying experience” more positive for its customers.
Another retail giant, Argos, announced on Friday that it was launching “Red, White and Blue Fridays” ahead of Black Friday, so customers “will find it easier to plan and budget over several weeks rather than one weekend.”
