Retail sales collapsed by 1.1% in October 2025, with many retailers saying the lead up to Black Friday was to blame.
Business owners and money experts shared their views on the annual shopping event, with one describing it as “a vile import that turns the high street into a mosh pit and bank accounts into a battlefield”.
Another said “Black Friday taps straight into the fear of missing out” and results in “overspending and regret” while a third went one further, branding it an “American vortex of misery”.
Colette Mason, AI consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said: “The 1.1 per cent drop in October sales confirms what we already knew: the British economy is now being held hostage by a marketing gimmick. We have effectively paused the entire retail sector for a month just to buy things we don’t need at prices that were probably cheaper in August.
“Retailers blaming the ‘lead up to Black Friday’ for the slump is like a turkey voting for Christmas. Big business have trained consumers to sit on their wallets until late November, creating a feast-or-famine cycle that kills cash flow for small businesses.
“I saved £11 on some new duvet covers that I needed. But honestly? I would happily forfeit the discount if I could return Black Friday to sender, along with trick-or-treating and corn dogs. It is a vile import that turns the high street into a mosh pit and bank accounts into a battlefield.”
Philly Ponniah, chartered wealth manager and financial coach at Philly Financial, said: “Black Friday taps straight into the fear of missing out. Someone told me earlier this week she’s been waking at three in the morning worried that she’ll miss a deal.
“When a sale pushes people into that level of anxiety, it stops being fun and starts driving the kind of behaviour that hurts their finances. Most discounts aren’t life changing, but the pressure makes it feel like you have to buy now.
“That urgency leads to overspending and regret. We’d all be better off with a calmer run up to Christmas where people feel in control rather than pushed into panic shopping.”
Kate Allen, owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, didn’t mince her words: “This American vortex of misery as Christmas looms is more depressing to the human soul than a Dementor’s kiss. No heart, no festive cheer, just vile consumerism and greed reaching into the depths of society.”
Some, however, were less sceptical. Scott Gallacher, director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said: “While the natural instinct of us Brits is to grumble about anything that looks like an American import — before quietly embracing it a few years later (see also, Halloween) — Black Friday isn’t the worst idea in the world.
“In the US, it sits neatly after Thanksgiving, which is their big cultural and spending event. So it’s more akin to our January sales. Here in the UK, we don’t have Thanksgiving, so Black Friday effectively brings the bargains forward to when we’re already doing most of our festive shopping.
“In that sense, we benefit from the cultural difference; the timing works better for us than it does for them. Great for savvy shoppers.
“That said, there is a darker side. The sheer number of “fake” deals — where prices are inflated beforehand or where lower-quality products mysteriously appear purely for the sale — does leave a bad taste.
“And the rush to pull spending forward probably doesn’t help retailers spread demand or maintain margins, as October’s sales figures show.”
Ben Perks, managing director at Stourbridge-based Orchard Financial Advisers, said people holding out for deals is understandable in the current climate: “Many will be holding out for Black Friday as cash-strapped shoppers are savvy. Why pay full whack now, when you can save in a few weeks’ time?
“I don’t think that Black Friday is to blame entirely. The reality is, during these leaner times, many people have spread the Christmas shopping over a longer period. There will be fewer splurges this year as people tighten their belts.”
