Scuffles in supermarkets, bust-ups over bargains, savings from the sofa and mêlées on the markets, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday are three of the retail sector’s main events, with sales expected to be higher than ever.

On the high street, online, on social media, on Smartphones and on TV, stores are applying extravagant discounts in a bid to lure shoppers in, boost early sales and kick start the festive shopping season.

Black Friday (28th November), although an American phenomenon, surfaced in the UK in 2010 when Amazon and Apple decided to extend their offers to shoppers outside of the USA. As British shoppers love a bargain, the day has led to reports of police being called to supermarkets to break up fights between shoppers and even close stores today and Visa expects we will spend £518m on its cards alone.

However, Cyber Monday (1st December), the day for internet deals and discounts, is expected to be the UK’s busiest online shopping day. According to IMRG, the UK’s association for online retailers, we are expected to splash out a whopping £649 million on the day, via the internet and Smartphones.

On the other hand, you can shop locally, support local traders and businesses and take part in Small Business Saturday (6th December). Visit your local high street, nearest town centre or market to support the work of businesses, families and manufacturers in your own area. These are what keep local communities thriving and last year was a runaway success with over 40% of Local Authorities supporting the campaign and around £460 million spent on the day. The hashtag #SmallBizSatUk is already trending on Twitter so get involved!

As specialists in retail, brand and online PR, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the UK’s shopping habits and the next few days are certainly going to demonstrate the spending power of the nation. Happy shopping!