Despite its status as one of the most critical dates in the UK retail calendar, Black Friday failed to deliver in 2025, with declines across both Tech and Home. It is a sobering reflection of the pressure facing UK households as they confront the cost-of-living squeeze, rising economic uncertainty, and weakening confidence.
Kelly Creaby, Head of Retail Customer Success, NIQ says: “For the first time in a Black Friday event, we have seen sales declines across nearly all categories within Tech & Durables, with only Personal Care showing growth (+4%), despite retailers increasing the number of discounts. The share of items sold with a 15%+ price cut climbed from 45% in 2024 to 50% in 2025, yet this still failed to stimulate demand.
Economic uncertainty and low consumer confidence mean UK households are prioritising essentials over discretionary purchases — and we’ve seen the impact of that caution during this subdued and disappointing Black Friday period.”
This retreat in spending is consistent with wider UK sentiment data. In November, GfK’s UK Consumer Confidence Index dropped to -19, with all five measures down. Crucially for the UK Black Friday period, the Major Purchase Index fell to -15, signalling that UK consumers increasingly believe this is the wrong moment to buy big-ticket items – precisely the categories Black Friday success relies on. Even deep promotions were not enough to overcome the financial caution that defined the UK market in November.
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