{"id":27019,"date":"2018-11-24T15:30:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T15:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=27019"},"modified":"2018-11-24T15:30:30","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T15:30:30","slug":"black-friday-cyber-monday-and-the-disappearing-high-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/black-friday-cyber-monday-and-the-disappearing-high-street\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the disappearing high street"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Featured image: Mohamed Hassan via\u00a0pxhere<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are expected to generate a \u00a37 billion total revenue from the UK. Experts have differing opinions on how this will affect the future of retail shops. <\/b><\/p>\n

Though Black Friday and Cyber Monday are unofficial holiday events that originate in the United States, both have since become a huge hit in the UK. Price comparison website <\/span>Finder.com<\/span><\/a> predicts that British people will be spending more than \u00a37 billion on the events this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finder.com\u2019s study reported that people in the UK were planning to spend less money (\u00a3220 per person, compared to last year\u2019s \u00a3304 per person) than the previous year\u2019s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but altogether more people (26% increase in number of participating adults) were partaking in the shopping marathons. In short, though the average spent per person has dropped, the total amount generated will likely be higher this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does this mean for retail shops? It\u2019s been a bad year so far for high street, <\/span>especially in London<\/span><\/a>. The list of retailers joining administrations or declaring major cutbacks and closures continues to grow. The <\/span>Telegraph\u2019s store closure tracker<\/span><\/a> estimates that 1,267 shops have been closed or marked for closure since January, meaning 25,159 jobs are potentially at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more<\/b>: <\/span>High street? More like ghost-street<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Could the \u00a37 billion spent by shoppers during this year\u2019s Black Friday and Cyber Monday affect dying high street shops? Dala Nageh, the Communications Director at the London School of Public Relations told <\/span>Voice of London<\/span><\/i> that the future might look a little less bleak for retail shops.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question that online shopping figures peak and high street footfall falls during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, my take is that once the online hype is over, people are still in shopping mode and will visit the high street,\u201d said Dala. \u201cThe hype can act as a motivator to pop into the shops. It can act as a trigger into action to go see the things you came across online.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore of a threat, in my opinion, are the crippling business rates hitting the high street retailer, especially the smaller business,\u201d Dala added.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Carl Jones, PR & Advertising senior lecturer at the University of Westminster, told <\/span>Voice of London<\/span><\/i> that high street will need more than the push from Black Friday and Cyber Monday in order to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe creation of a specific shopping day like Alibaba\u2019s Singles Day in China, and America\u2019s Black Friday, are an international phenomena invented to promote excessive consumption in a technology driven marketplace. In order to survive, high street needs to adapt by turning empty stores into showrooms for online brands such as Microsoft, Amazon, or Alibaba,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more<\/b>: <\/span>Amazon meets the concrete jungle of Baker Street<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, Black Friday and Cyber Monday mean something completely different to consumers. Most of us are unconcerned with how much revenue the two days make, or whether or not Debenhams closes down more stores. Instead, we\u2019re looking at what deals we\u2019ll be able to snag for the next few days.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shoppers flood Regent Street for Black Friday (Image: Courtesy of Sam Carter)<\/p><\/div>\n

If you end up finding any ridiculously good deals, tweet us @TheVoiceOfLondonUK<\/a> to have your say!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image: Mohamed Hassan via pxhere<\/a><\/p>\n

Words: Claire Chung | Subbing: Taylor Paatalo<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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