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Black Friday: Saffron Walden traders give their view

BBC Matthew Brady, owner, Game On-toymaster, Saffron WaldenBBC
Matthew Brady runs Game On Toymaster on Saffron Walden's High Street

Black Friday has gone from a little-known US import to a major date in the retail calendar. But what does it mean for independent shopkeepers on one town's high street?

Analysts PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predict £8.7bn will be spent in this year's Black Friday sales.

That is up from £7.8bn in 2019, and about twice as much as last year when the UK was in lockdown.

The BBC spoke to traders in Saffron Walden, Essex, to find out if they were expecting a pre-Christmas boost.

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Rachel Burton from the Modern crafter
Rachel Burton has boycotted the Black Friday sales for her small crafting business

'We're thinking about the long term'

Rachel Burton, who runs The Modern Crafter, in Market Row, says Black Friday does not work for her business and she has not been taking part.

"For us, we're thinking about the long term and we're trying to navigate really uncertain times," she says.

"We offer what we think is great prices for our products. So for us to slash our prices, if we do that just to gain short-term cash, we can't buy new products and invest in our business to keep going, and that's really the reason we don't participate."

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Matthew Brady, owner, Game On-toymaster, Saffron Walden
Matthew Brady says there's a pressure to take part or risk losing out to other retailers

'We do feel like we have to take part'

Other retailers feel pressure to participate.

Matthew Brady, who runs the Game On Toymaster store on High Street, says: "We do feel like we have to take part.

"It does boost sales and if we don't do that people will go to other retailers or online to take advantage of their offers."

Mostly Mr Brady only runs offers that have come directly from the manufacturers, with a few small exceptions.

He said: "We have specific offers that have come through from suppliers. We're focussing on a couple of key lines - it's not across the board."

However, a shortage of games consoles has stopped him putting bigger ticket items on sale.

"We were expecting to run offers on consoles this time of year, but due to chip shortages we can't even get hold of those products", he says.

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