Ahead of official Black Friday UK trading figures, consumer enthusiasm for the event’s deals was set to reach the highest level since 2020. And clothing and beauty have been rising up consumers’ related wishlists, with an uptick in searches compared to last year.

That’s according to global professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal’s analysis of Google Search terms, which shows consumers have been searching for related deals early this year, with the search index score in October reaching the highest for the past four years.

It said that although Black Friday consumer interest had been in steep decline since the pandemic, this year’s early surge “shows renewed consumer appetite for deals and discounting in the run-up to the festive season”. 

To capitalise on this critical time of year, retailers launched Black Friday deals early – 50% of the top 20 non-food retailers launched discounts over three weeks in advance this year. This has translated into earlier consumer engagement, with analysis showing search interest in Black Friday for the past three weeks in the build-up to Black Friday is also higher than the past three years.

In further encouraging news for the future of the high street, “there has also been a steady uptick interest in in-store Black Friday deals compared to online”, it noted.

Erin Brookes, European Retail and Consumer Lead, Alvarez and Marsal, said: “Retailers raced out of the starting blocks early this year with their seasonal discounting, and Black Friday took over the high street for nearly the full month of November. Playing the long game has paid off with a much-needed boost in consumer interest, as demonstrated by an early uptick in online activity, which has hopefully translated into sales.”

She added: “After a full quarter of consecutive monthly sales growth in the UK was followed by falling sales in October, high street bosses have pinned their hopes on a bumper Black Friday. The retailers that have been restrained with discounting throughout the year and are now offering their customers genuine deals are likely to perform best. As the festive season continues to ramp up, ensuring the right range and in-store merchandising, as well as impactful advertising, will continue to play a key role in securing hard-fought consumer attention.”