Embattled retailers raise hopes of festive spending spree as sales event coincides with payday

Shoppers visited websites in droves to snap up Black Friday bargains, raising hopes among struggling retailers that the US-inspired promotional day would finally kickstart a festive spending spree.

After a tough October and start to November for UK retailers, the number of transactions made by Nationwide Building Society members was up 11% by lunchtime compared with Black Friday last year and was 17% up on 2022.