Business owners increase discounting by 102% but only entice 11% extra spending.

Data from leading retail management platform Vend shows that despite increasing discounting by 102%, in-store spending for independent toy retailers over the Black Friday shopping period only increased by 11% compared to an average week.

Vend, which powers thousands of the UK’s small-to-medium and independent retail stores, found that Black Friday provides a significant spike in the retail calendar. When looking at the Black Friday period (24th-27th November), spending increased by 28% compared to the previous weeks.

This year however many independent retail stores have taken a stand against Black Friday, opting out of the retail event and the pressures it places on margins.

While some retailers shunned the retail event, many others still looked to compete, with major spikes in discounting levels across some verticals over the Black Friday period.

Higor Torchia, UK country manager for Vend, commented: “Heavy discounting can be really tough for independent retailers with smaller margins, especially as we head into the most important trading period of the year. And these retailers have so much more to offer with their unique, cherishable products, compared to some of the bigger stores that can push prices low. But we’ve also seen a 62% increase in discounting overall compared to the rest of October and November. So many smaller retailers are still dropping prices to try and capture footfall over the Black Friday weekend.”

“Though something our data shows very clearly is that big discounts don’t necessarily equal big sales. Which means that other than a marketing exercise, it really might not be that beneficial for smaller stores to be trying to compete on price.”

What do you think? Toy World would like to know if you agree with this data, and how you found Black Friday. Let us know on Twitter here.