'Shopper fatigue' behind Asda's decision to drop 'Black Friday' sales says retailer

The company, which is a subsidiary of US retailer Walmart, will instead invest "over £26 million in sustained savings spread across a traditional seasonal shop" following customer feedback, according to the announcement.

The National Police Chiefs' Council has issued a warning to retailers to put "sufficient security arrangements" in place ahead of seasonal promotions, according to the BBC. More UK retailers ran one-day Black Friday sales than ever before last year, but some were unprepared for high levels of demand leading to reports of crowd control issues and assaults.

Retail and e-commerce expert Iain Connor of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that one-day promotions such as Black Friday and its online equivalent, Cyber Monday, required preparation from retailers.

"Whether it was online or offline, the legal lessons last year all revolved around matching supply with demand and managing consumer expectations," he said. "Retailers should heed this advice and, if the logistics are too difficult, don't do it."

Black Friday, or the Friday following Thanksgiving, has become the busiest shopping day of the year in the US with many retailers opening early and offering promotional sales. Over the past few years UK retailers have followed suit, and both offline and online outlets now run special one-day promotions to attract Christmas shoppers.

According to its press announcement, Asda "introduced the event to the UK in 2013".

"The decision to step away from Black Friday is not about the event itself," said Andy Clarke, Asda's chief executive. "Over the last two years we've developed an organised, well-executed plan, but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don't want to be held hostage to a day or two of sales."

"With an ever changing retail landscape, now more than ever we must listen carefully to exactly what our shoppers want and be primed and ready to act the minute their needs change," he said.

Figures published this week by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that retail sales decreased by 0.2% on a like-for-like basis in October 2015 compared to the previous years. Surveyed retailers told the BRC that they had noticed "some slowdown" in sales from product categories which tended to be popular on Black Friday.