Black Friday spending is set to reach £9.8bn, according to research by VoucherCodes.co.uk. This represents a 3% increase year on year, broadly in line with inflation, suggesting spending will be largely flat in real terms.

However, the Black Friday Spending Report also suggests that shoppers are more engaged with Black Friday than ever. 45% of all UK consumers are expected to shop over the Black Friday weekend (versus 40% last year), with two-fifths saying they expect to spend more than they did in 2025 (39%).

And, while only 35% of people saw the sales as a great way to make a saving last year, now almost two-thirds view the sales this way (63%). There’s also been a sharp increase in the number of consumers who base their festive shopping around the sales – doubling from 9% to 18%.

Vouchercodes’ data reveals that on Black Friday itself, retail sales are expected to hit £3.41bn, marking a 1.5% increase on the £3.36bn spent last year. While, in real terms, that’s down on last year, Cyber Monday is expected to perform more strongly, delivering a healthy £3.53bn or 4.2% uplift YoY.

The research also suggests that online retailers will benefit the most from Black Friday, with spending set to hit £5.29bn over the weekend – an increase of 3.3% YoY. Brick-and-mortar retailers are expecting a 2.7% uplift year-on-year to £4.41bn.

Scepticism around the sales has decreased, with fewer consumers now labelling Black Friday a ‘scam’ – a drop from 18% to just 4% – while the number of people who say the deals aren’t any better than other times of year has fallen from 29% to 11%.

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