B&Q to abandon Black Friday

B&Q today announces it is abandoning Black Friday in favour of providing its customers with year-round low prices across the store. The leading home improvement retailer is sticking with its everyday low prices model, which went store-wide with a £100m investment from July this year and has been in place on kitchens since 2014.

Recent research commissioned by B&Q reinforces the popularity of this pricing strategy, showing that shoppers trust retailers offering year round low prices far more than those that run frequent sales and occasional offers. In fact, almost half of people (46 per cent) admit they aren’t planning to shop in this year’s Black Friday sales and nearly half (43 per cent) said they often or always returned items after regretting purchases made in short term, dramatic sales. Almost a third of people (29 per cent) confess to feeling like they must make a quick decision to take advantage of fleeting price drops, and many are being lured into impulse buying (16 per cent), ultimately leading to ‘shopper’s regret’.

The atmosphere created by limited time offers leaves a quarter (23 per cent) of shoppers feeling stressed and anxious, with one in five (21 per cent) feeling extra pressure to purchase something.

Paul White, Commercial Director, B&Q, commented: “Shoppers have told us they trust stable low prices far more than ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ deals, which is why we have invested £100m in our year round low prices across the store. “Our pricing is all part of B&Q’s strategy to help make home improvement more affordable for all customers. This year, over 3,000 new low prices have been introduced for great quality products. “Our everyday low prices mean shoppers don’t have to impulse buy to get the best deal.

For us, it’s ‘Black Friday’ every day so you can get started and do it now.” B&Q has followed this simplified pricing strategy for kitchens since September 2014. It was awarded Lowest Priced National DIY Retailer of Kitchens 2017 by Kitchen Compare and is on track to win the award again for 2018.

Source: Insight DIY Team & B&Q Press Release.

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