Retailers taking part in the day that promotes discount sales for consumers looking to save money on their Christmas shop would be forced to order more stock than they needed and result in increased waste, Approved Food’s boss Dan Cluderay said.
He described ‘Black Friday’ (November 27) – a tradition adopted from America to mark its national holiday after Thanksgiving – as a “flawed marketing approach” and the “darkest day” in the retail calander.
“The Black Friday approach is a flawed marketing approach in many ways as retailers have to buy in stock to manage the demand, defeating the original point of Black Friday and only adding to the issue of waste,” he said.
Refreshing to not partake
“It is refreshing that various retailers have recognised that and as a result are not partaking this year.”
Last year, shoppers spent £810M online in the UK on Black Friday.
Asda’s move to offer value for money over a longer period of time is a much better way of listening to customer demand and supplying accordingly, Cluderay claimed.
Black Friday facts
- £810M spent online in UK (2014)
- £9,375 spent every second (2014)
- £966M expected to be spent on this year
For discount retailers, offering value for money and low prices is an everyday occurrence – not just one day of “price-slashed madness”, he added.
Last year, Cluderay and his business partner Andy Needham called for the “false economy practice” that is Black Friday to be put under the spotlight; highlighting the need for fairer pricing all year round for families across the UK.
Despite many large retailers claiming huge discounts, as little as 10% was knocked off items with a value in excess of £100 or more.
‘Chaos online and instore’
“Last year there was chaos in the shops and chaos on the internet as a result of Black Friday,” Cluderay claimed.
“Shoppers want the deals all year round, so that’s how we operate. As retailers, we should collectively offer working people value all year round and avoid a one day rush that knocks out the internet for the rest of the working world.”
Approved Food redistributes food manufacturers’ excess stock or stock nearing its best before date.
As well as offering discount to shoppers this business model dramatically reduces the amount of waste produced throughout the UK and so far, has saved over 32M items from landfill, Cluderay said.