Black Friday 2023 – How Much to Reduce by & Categories to Target

• Economic challenges resulted in consumers seeking discounts of over 40% off for Black Friday 2022. While deep price cuts are tempting to drive sales, retailers need to take a targeted approach to discounts this year, as applying blanket discounts can erode margins unnecessarily.
• In the UK, dresses made up over 25% of products discounted at 50% or higher across womenswear. This category only equaled 15% of US products discounted within this bracket, as state-side retailers focused on marking down T-shirts, tank tops and trousers.
• Menswear experienced the most aggressive reductions over Black Friday 2022 in the UK, with 69% marked down at an average of 40%. Retailers fuelling deep discounts included boohooMAN and Burton. American retailers went in a different direction for menswear, reducing to 38%, below the average of 49%
• With 40% and 35% of childrenswear discounted in the US and UK at an average of 41% and 32%, this category came in under the average markdowns taken over Black Friday 2022. US retailers offered the steepest promotions on boyswear and unisex products, while in the UK, girlswear bore the brunt of sales.
• Tops and bottoms comprised the highest proportion of childrenswear discounted at 50% and higher over Black Friday 2022 across both regions. Dresses and product sets were targeted at UK retailers, while the US avoided deep discounts for outerwear, except for heavy winter styles.

2022’s Most Popular Discounts

Products discounted for the first time over Cyber sales experienced modest price cuts. UK retailers had the most first discounts within 20%-30% and 0%-10% off, and only 22% in the US were reduced by over 50%. However, with consumers battling the cost of living crisis, higher discount brackets were more favorable. A third of majority SKU sellouts occurred between 40%-50% off in the UK. In the US, shoppers responded best to the 30%-40% band, but this was marginal, seeing only a 1-3pp difference above brackets upwards of 40%.

Inflated living costs are expected to impact Black Friday sales as 53% of US¹53% of consumers expect an economic impact on 2023 holiday plans – Numerator via Supermarket News and 42% of UK consumers²Half of Brits already worried about affording Christmas 2023 – Park Christmas Savings via Yahoo Newsas are worried economic challenges will dampen their holiday spending. As a result, retailers may be tempted to offer substantial markdowns to stimulate sales and move excess inventory. However, employing blanket discounts can erode margins unnecessarily. Instead, adopt targeted and data-driven pricing strategies to optimize sales while minimizing profit losses.

How Much to Reduce By

Womenswear – UK retailers weren’t as bullish with discounts for womenswear, with advertised average discounts 5pp below menswear. Monki and NA-KD boasted the most competitive offers, with an average discount depth of 53% and 50%, respectively. While boohoo and New Look also had the majority of womenswear ranges reduced, Marks & Spencer kept more womenswear at full price over the sale period than menswear, only marking down 28% of styles.

Discount proportions and depths for this category were 4pp heavier than average US Black Friday sales at 53%. This was also driven by Aéropostale, as well as Nasty Gal and Torrid, which ran average discounts of 72% and 62%. H&M had a lower portion of womenswear on sale in this region at 19% vs. 36% in the UK. However, prices were lower, with an average reduction rate of 43% vs. 33%.

	Womenswear		Menswear		Childrenswear
	Ad. Discount Proportion*	Ad. Av. Discount Depth**	Ad. Discount Proportion	Ad. Av. Discount Depth	Ad. Discount Proportion	Ad. Av. Discount Depth
UK	69%	35%	69%	40%	35%	32%
US	53%	53%	42%	38%	40%	41%

*Advertised Discount Proportion & **Advertised Average Discount Depth

Menswear – experienced more aggressive price cuts over womenswear and childrenswear in the UK. Discount proportions and depths exceeded the average markdowns taken on Black Friday, where retailers advertised 65% of styles as reduced with an average percentage of 36%. Marks & Spencer, boohooMAN, New Look and Burton had 77%-99% of menswear on sale, with the latter offering the most competitive average discount at 61%.

This trend differed from US retailers, where 42% of assortments were advertised on sale, with an average discount of 38%, below the US Black Friday average of 49% for proportions and depth. Aéropostale reduced 93% of its menswear at an average of 65%, while Mango offered the most conservative price cuts at 22%.

Childrenswear – in the UK experienced lower discount proportions and depths compared to menswear and womenswear, with both metrics below the region’s average of 65% and 35%. Splitting out by gender revealed girlswear was targeted for the most competitive deals, with 40% of products reduced at an average of 34%. River Island offered the most attractive discounts, averaging 48%.

In the US, childrenswear had the lowest percentage of products reduced, but retailers, on average, discounted deeper than menswear at 41%, driven by steep reduction at Gap. Girlswear had the highest portion of products marked down, though boyswear and unisex products were discounted deeper at 40% and 50%.

The Categories to Target

Womenswear – Dresses made up over 25% of products discounted at 50% or higher on Black Friday 2022 in the UK, with midi and mini silhouettes and floral prints targeted. Unlike menswear, accessories were protected from steep markdowns in this market vs. the US, with 3% advertised at half price vs. 7%.

American retailers used Cyber Sales to clear through tops, evident by saddling T-shirts, tank tops and blouses with aggressive markdowns. Within this discount band, bottoms had the second-highest level of reduced products due to aggressive discounting at Nasty Gal and Torrid on wide-leg and tailored trousers.

Menswear – Analyzing the market with an advertised markdown of 50% off or over on Black Friday in 2022 shows retailers were pushing tops and bottoms for the Cyber Sale across regions. Product sets also accounted for a high portion of UK products, with heavy reductions on Black Friday, driven by tracksuits at boohooMAN and suiting at Burton.

Outerwear experienced heavier reductions in the UK, with 17% of styles at half price vs. 5% in the US. American retailers targeted more accessories, cutting costs on hats and eyewear. Footwear was spared from aggressive markdowns globally, making up less than 3% of men’s products discounted upwards of 50%.

Childrenswear – With girlswear seeing the most prominent discounts in the UK, dresses accounted for nearly 10% of products discounted upwards of 50% vs. less than 4% in the US. Product sets were also more affordable in this market, with retailers using this opportunity to clear through Halloween styles.

US retailers had a higher portion of bottoms reduced by over half price than in the UK, targeting shorts from toddlers to teen sizes. Christmas-themed sweatpants also experienced steep reductions at Old Navy. Retailers avoided deep discounts for outerwear at these levels, with only 54% marked down, mainly heavy winter styles, such as puffer jackets and windbreakers.

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