Black Friday 2015: Shopping centres will open longer to meet expected frenzy

11/11/2015
SHOPPING centres will opening up for longer on Black Friday to cope with an expected frenzy of bargain hunters seeking deals before Christmas.

The intu Potteries Shopping Centre will be open from 9am until 8pm on November 27 while the Roebuck centre in Newcastle will open at 8am through to 6pm.
Although details of specific deals from retailers are likely to remain under wraps until closer to the date, the chains are likely to enjoy a share of an expected £1 billion spent by UK shoppers on a single day.
Black Friday will make the start of three days of events designed to encourage shoppers into the city centre complex.
The centre will also announce the winner of a bumper £1,800 Christmas prize for a competition which has been running in recent weeks.
In order to win, shoppers have been encouraged to record a video of up to 60 seconds describing a favourite childhood Christmas memory before submitting it to Facbeook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
Gordon McKinnon, operations director of intu, said: "Despite some retailers coming out early with their Black Friday plans, the majority are still playing their cards close to their chests.
"However, from what we are hearing from our retailers and shoppers, Black Friday is definitely here to stay – that genie cannot be put back in the bottle.
Last year we saw a 30 per cent increase in visitor numbers on Black Friday compared to a normal Friday and are expecting similar numbers this year. In preparation we are extending opening hours and bringing in extra staff to ensure the day goes smoothly."
The Roebuck Centre in High Street has also extended opening hours as well as two extra days of events to entice shoppers to spend cash with retailers.
On Saturday November 28, Santa will be visiting the centre to give children the chance to let Father Christmas know how good they've been and the perfect gift they'd like to receive on December 25. All money raised from the event will go to The Donna Louise Children's Hospice Trust.
On Sunday, Paddington Bear will be out and about around the centre and the town centre as part of the town's Christmas lights switch-on event.
The gearing up for sound of ringing tills comes a year after a boom time for retailers.
An estimated £810 million was spent online last year with UK shoppers - around £562,500 a minute.
Indeed, UK customers spent around £7.9 billion each week in November.
The term "Black Friday" comes from America and refers to the day after Thanksgiving - a time when retailers traditionally offer deals and discounts.
Although the shopping phenomenon dates back as far as the Great Depression in 1939, the term Black Friday didn't really exist until in the UK until 2010 and there was a real turning point in 2013 as public awareness grew.
This year, analysts at Experian and IMRG predict spending will increase by a third on Black Friday to £1.07 billion with further uplifts on Cyber Monday (November 30) and Manic Monday (December 7).
Boxing Day and New Year's Day are also expected to see large increases in spend compared to 2014, say Experian.
James Miller, senior retail consultant at Experian Marketing Services, said: "The 2015 Christmas period is on track to be another record year for online retail in the UK.
"We expect that Black Friday will continue to break new ground for online shopping, passing the billion pound mark for the first time."
Retailers have traditionally kept details on their Black Friday deals under wraps until the last minute.
Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are all expected to offer strong deals on Black Friday.
Yesterday, Asda said it would not take part in Black Friday and instead invest £26 million in sales deals elsewhere in the run-up to Christmas.

By:http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Black-Friday-2015-Shopping-centres-open-longer/story-28155096-detail/story.html

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