Christmas shopping sales expected to remain strong despite Black Friday challenge

Undertaken by professional services company Accenture, the survey offers insights into consumer buying patterns, surveying a sample of 1,500 during September and October this year.

It found that some consumers were not buying in to the Black Friday sales hype, with 37 per cent saying they thought the best discounts would be available after Christmas and New Year. 

Last year shoppers parted with more than £1 billion during the US-inspired sales event, although there have been signs this year's event, on November 25, will not be on such a scale. 

However recently they have been urged to be cautious in their spending during the sales blitz, after it emerged half of all last year's 'deals' were actually cheaper before and afterwards.

In an analysis of 2015 sales, Consumer watchdog Which? found 49 per cent of so-called "offers" were not the cheapest on the day itself.

If also found that shoppers are remaining optimistic despite uncertainty brought by Brexit, with 57 per cent saying their spending habits were unaffected following the referendum vote.

Just 11 per cent said they were more cautious with their spending on essentials and were not spending anything on non-essentials after Britain voted to leave the EU. 

Accenture found that savvy shoppers were looking around different stores or sites to get each at the lowest price, rather than buy all items in one place.

Eight out of ten were planning to check online store Amazon.co.uk before making any purchases. 

Matt Prebble, managing director of Accenture’s Retail Practice in the UK, that retailers needed to be flexible and deliver enticing offers throughout the season to make shoppers to part with their pounds.

He said: "While it’s encouraging to see that many consumers are planning to spend more this festive season, the challenge for UK retailers will be to drive profitable sales.

"In a world in which their own costs are under pressure from a weak pound, and consumers are more promotion focused than ever, retailers have a difficult balance to achieve. 

"They will need to adopt an agile approach if they want to successfully target each customer segment by providing enticing services and offers that will persuade consumers to purchase."

He said that shoppers were embracing different channels, with a surge in popularity of buy online and pick-up in-store options.

He added: "The days of thinking about independent channels are over, with shoppers buying goods online, only to travel to the physical store to collect their items, opening up the prospect of multichannel sales. 

"Retailers need to gather as much data as possible about their customers’ journeys to ensure they convert every possible point of sale opportunity."

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Head of Policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), said: "Retailers have been preparing for the five-week Christmas shopping season all year. 

"Traditionally it's a crucial time of year - last year 13 percent of retail spend happened over this period. 

"We expect to see more of those sales happening online, and retailers with strong online and multi-channel operations should benefit from this over the next few weeks. 

"Black Friday will be a big part of that shopping experience for customers, and those retailers who take part will have strong promotions to attract shoppers.

"According to SRC figures, after a slow summer, retail sales have started to improve in September and October. 

"With consumer confidence steady and prices continuing to fall, we expect customers will be able to find the right products at the right price this Christmas." 

The survey may be welcome news after tough times for a number of retailers in recent months. 

Stationery firm Staples sold its UK division, confirming the brand will be phased out in the coming months.

And retail giant Marks and Spencer confirmed it would be closing 30 stories across the UK and convert 45 more to food only.