Black Friday arrives in Britain, and Brits are bemused

By Digiday • November 28, 2014 •

Brits have begrudgingly come to accept that Black Friday is probably here to stay in the U.K.

Ever since Amazon.co.uk brought the event to the U.K. in 2010, Black Friday has grown in importance as a retail event, even though there’s no Thanksgiving. Visa Europe estimates British shoppers will spend £1 million ($1.6 million) every three minutes today, up 22 percent on last year. Major retailers like Tesco and Argos all saw their websites crash due to the level of demand.

But perhaps more importantly, the day has become a fun online spectacle for those less interested in the sales themselves. Let’s face it, watching people fight over a half price toaster is probably more fun than actually doing it yourself. Just as the U.S. sees most years, Black Friday has become a day full of animated posts mocking the futility of it all. Nearly 70,000 Black Friday tweets have been sent in the U.K. so far, according to We Are Social, nearly triple a year ago. Black Friday has been the top trending topic on Twitter all day.

The reason why is put best by Nigel Fletcher:

OK, #BlackFriday may be a puzzling Americanism. But expressing irritation at cynical American-imported marketing? THAT’s a British tradition — Nigel Fletcher (@nigelfletcher) November 28, 2014

This morning, customers lived up to the British stereotype by forming an orderly queue outside some of the country’s supermarket stores.

Crazy queues at Asda but all calm and veryBritish queue in place.. So far pic.twitter.com/ACe4GzCmia — Sarah Butler (@whatbutlersaw) November 28, 2014

Walmart-owned Asda invited the media to come and witness the “safe excitement” of its Black Friday sale. This scene shows tabloid paparazzi lined up inside to capture the action.

Asda even brought in cheerleaders to add some glamor to the proceedings. Buzzfeed’s UK editor Luke Lewis expressed his dismay:

What is happening RT @asabenn Asda Uses Scantily-Dressed Cheerleaders To Help Sell Their Wares https://t.co/XzuCKOvORX — Luke Lewis (@lukelewis) November 28, 2014

Somewhat predictably, things got out of hand when they opened the doors.

Witness the spirit of Christmas, courtesy of dedicated producer @TVRav – in the midst of a #blackfriday battle https://t.co/8IYfY3ZVQG — Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) November 28, 2014

News sites have been keen to satisfy peoples’ curiosity to see the mayhem unfold.

Watch #BlackFriday get violent as two women fight over lingerie! Follow our live blog here. https://t.co/BgIoxxDN2e pic.twitter.com/HRSlvK30ys — Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) November 28, 2014

Black Friday prompted plenty of satirical tweets from brands and small businesses throughout the day.

Hmm, we think we did #BlackFriday last week. Although it was just called “Friday”. And it’s the same every day! pic.twitter.com/t6owEsH8wJ — Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) November 28, 2014

The #BlackFriday crush. We’d much rather kick back with a Jack. pic.twitter.com/NBszdWo7zH — Jack Daniel’s UK (@JackDanielsUK) November 28, 2014

In honour of Black Friday we are just carrying on as normal and keeping our prices exactly the same. Because it’s all a load of codswallop. — Sally Butcher (@PersiainPeckham) November 28, 2014

The British stiff upper lip was on show with tweets playing on the “keep calm and carry on” meme.

Keep Calm And Don’t Shop. https://t.co/w2v3czEevx #BuyNothingDay #BND pic.twitter.com/zRMtosqImK — Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) November 28, 2014

There was plenty of sarcasm on show too.

#BlackFriday chaos at Waitrose West Ealing. When will this madness stop? pic.twitter.com/6qhiShxz5U — CAL ROSCOW (@calroscow) November 28, 2014

Just got back from @Tesco, it’s unbelievable how angry everyone is #BlackFriday pic.twitter.com/sSzKEtSJMV — British Logic (@BritishLogic) November 28, 2014

I don’t think today has yet captured the same magic as the Black Friday’s I remember when I was a kid.

— Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) November 28, 2014