Retailers warned Black Friday could damage brands after research shows three quarters of shoppers had bad experience last year

Retailers are being advised to plan carefully for the upcoming sales bonanzas on Black Friday and Cyber Monday after research revealed that three quarters of shoppers had a bad experience during last year’s chaos.

Overcrowded stores, smaller than expected discounts, low stock and even “traumatic” experiences were listed among the complaints about last year’s one-off discount days by some of the 2000 individuals surveyed by predictive analytics firm Blue Yonder.

In some cases, the situation was bad enough to put shoppers off the events completely: Blue Yonder’s data shows that just 38% of respondents are planning to bag a bargain on Black Friday on November 27, compared to 46% last year.

“It is clear that a careful approach to Black Friday and Cyber Monday by retailers is needed,” said Markus Juhr-De Benedetti, chief revenue officer at Blue Yonder.

“Bad experiences can put customers off brands, especially if they leave empty handed due to a product selling out too quickly. We all remember the scenes from last year’s shops,” he added.

Black Friday hit the headlines last year due to shocking video and photographs showing customers stampeding into stores and even physical scuffles over heavily discounted goods.

Blue Yonder’s survey also revealed that 20% of purchases made last year were not intended as presents for loved ones, but instead were sold on. In London, the total rose to a third of products bought.