Black Friday Bargains Spark Xmas Price War

Black Friday - the US discount shopping event that traditionally follows the Thanksgiving holiday - has gone global with UK shoppers being offered more bargains than ever.

Retailers are promising consumers an early Christmas bonanza as cut-price deals spread across the sector - largely an excuse to boost sales in the run-up to the festive season and shift some older stock.

In the US, there were reports of violence as the frenzied rush for deals turned ugly.

Some of the biggest names on the UK high street have slashed prices and some shelves were stripped of bargains within half an hour of stores opening.

Online sales are predicted to peak on December 2 - known as Cyber Monday - when Amazon is hoping to beat the 41 items per second it sold last year.

Discounts of up to 70% are being reported on some products, while retail experts predict sales could top £5bn for a sector which has had to cut prices - and therefore margins - for years amid the squeeze on consumer spending.

John Lewis said customers would be able to save up to 50% on selected small electrical and audio items, up to £200 on selected large appliances and laptops and up to 25% on selected TVs.

Ed Connolly, its buying director, said: "Black Friday has become a huge promotional event in America and we have also seen customers respond well to this day in the UK.

"We're really looking forward to sharing incredible deals with our customers on what promises to be a very exciting shopping day."

In a first for Asda, it will mirror the flash sale extravaganza that has been held by parent company Walmart for the past decade.

Asda promised "earth-shattering savings" with deals on electronics, toys and gadgets through to everyday essentials such as batteries, describing Black Friday as "the most dramatic shopping event to ever hit British stores."

Asda's chief merchandising officer Andrew Moore, said: "Last year Walmart reported their best ever Black Friday event with stores in the US serving over 22 million customers in one day.

"We're taking our lead from them and utilising their know-how to help create an offer that means Asda shoppers can benefit from incredible savings at a time when they really need us the most.

"Given these never-been-seen-before deals, we're anticipating ... the busiest shopping day of the year so far, so we would encourage customers to head to store quickly to avoid disappointment, because once stock is gone - it's gone."

Amazon UK managing director Christopher North said: "Since we started Black Friday deals in the UK in 2010, the concept has really caught on and is now a much-anticipated event in the UK shopping calendar.

"Last year we offered millions of pounds off more than 1,000 deals including high-spec coffee machines, signed CDs and Kindle Fire devices.

"This year we'll be releasing twice as many deals to make it easy for customers to save money on this year's must have gifts ."