British consumers have rewarded retailers with solid takings on Black Friday, creating another record day for the event.
An overwhelming amount of the action took place online as shoppers looked for bargains on their mobile phones and computers, leaving shops largely free of the unedifying tussles over discounted goods witnessed in earlier years.
This year the association for online retailers estimates that £1.27 billion was spent on Friday, an increase of 16% over 2015.
But over an entire seven days of promotions ending Monday 28 November, online retail sales could reach as much as £6.77 billion.
Black Friday made its first appearance in the UK six years ago. This year marked a significant change in shopping habits, as buyers shunned the high street and took instead to the internet.
Even though many retailers opened their doors long before daylight on Friday, the traditional queues failed to form as bargain hunters realised they could trawl for deals at home and at any hour of the day or night.
Digital specialist agency Salmon reported that 75% of shoppers from midnight to 9am had used mobile devices. It also recorded an increase in the number of shoppers from outside the UK who took advantage to better deals due to the weaker pound.
Last year Black Friday week gave John Lewis the biggest sales period in its 150 years of operating. This year the retailer said that overnight five online orders had been placed every second, with sales ahead of expectations.
Currys PC World reported a 40% rise over 2015 on visits to its website before 6am as more than half a million people checked out its offerings online. Fitness monitors and drones were popular items.
Hundreds of thousands also searched for treasures at Argos which reported its top sellers were iPads, games, Dyson vacuums and headphones.
Sainsbury’s best sellers included HD TVs, iPad minis, football video games and devices for Google Chromecast.
