Will UK shoppers shop like it's Black Friday?

In the US, the holiday shopping season goes into high gear on the Friday after Thanksgiving (this year, that's Friday, 26 November). It's called Black Friday because (so one story goes) that's the day when retailers' balance sheets swing into the "black"--meaning they become profitable. Some malls and retailers are opening just after midnight on that Friday to let shoppers start their bargain-hunting early. This unusual timing also grabs media attention and gets buyers excited about being among the first to grab popular deeply-discounted items.

Now some retailers are trying to bring Black Friday mania to UK shoppers. Amazon UK, for example, has special bargains starting Monday (see image above). As my earlier posts have noted, UK retailers have already begun their Christmas promotions, with special pages and sometimes free shipping to encourage early shopping.

Will UK shoppers embrace Black Friday deals and shift their shopping to those retailers that offer special discounts next week? Remember, by cutting prices, retailers are cutting margins, so they'll have to sell more to keep up profitability. Will Black Friday bargains help retailers improve the top line (sales) as well as the bottom line (profits)? We'll soon see!