Black Friday 'could break buying record'

This year's Black Friday sale could break buying records in the UK, early figures suggest.

At 10:00 GMT, Barclaycard said transaction volumes were up 12.5% from last year, and between 13:00 and 14:00 they were 9% higher.

"The fact that records are continuing to be broken suggests that appetite for Black Friday sales is not abating," said Rob Cameron from Barclaycard.

John Lewis said buyers were snapping up Apple iPads and Lego Star Wars toys.

The department store also reported interest in cut-price aftershave and underwear, as shoppers seek bargains for gifts.

However, some of the most popular gifts are not being discounted, according to Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at Money.co.uk.

"Consumers hoping to snap up one of this year's most popular gadgets today could be disappointed as our research found there are very few Black Friday deals to be had on the most sought-after products," he said.

"It begs the question, are stores discounting the products that shoppers really want, or slashing prices on the gear they have been unable to shift throughout the year?

The website's research found discounts on products such as the Nintendo Switch gaming console and GoPro digital cameras were hard to come by at big retailers.

The shopping spree has also suffered a backlash from campaigners concerned that it encourages wasteful impulse buying.

Earlier this week, consumer group Which? warned that few real deals were available, with most goods cheaper or available for the same price at other times.

It found that just four of 83 products they studied last year were cheaper during the Black Friday promotion.