Retailers have reported a significant rise in footfall in Hull on Black Friday. Christmas shopping deals will continue at many stores this weekend – scroll down for some of Asda's offers.
IT has become one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. And it got off to a busy start on Black Friday as thousands of shoppers searched for bargains.
Hundreds queued for hours outside supermarkets waiting for deals to be unveiled. But even businesses which were not offering specific Black Friday bargains were benefiting.
At St Stephen's shopping centre in Hull city centre, footfall was up by 23 per cent compared to this time last year and by 3pm, about 31,500 people had visited the centre.
Centre manager Jim Harris said: "It's been really busy. Everybody loves a good bargain, but it was all done with good humour and people were having a laugh and a joke.
"Black Friday is generally retailer driven. It is the time when the public buy the bigger items."
In the Prospect Shopping Centre there were dozens of people waiting for Currys to open this morning.
Lee Appleton, the centre manager, said: "Boots, Currys and Game have had really busy days. All the other stores say that footfall has been a lot bigger."
Mr Harris, who is also chairman of the Hull Business Improvement District (Hull BID), hopes the success of Black Friday, which coincided with the last pay day before Christmas for many people, will continue this weekend.
"Everyone seemed in good spirits," he said. "There is a real festive feel. In the past shoppers might have gone to Sheffield and Manchester. Now we are keeping them in Hull. It could be a great weekend."
With the city centre packed, so were the roads. At one point during the afternoon, it was taking EYMS buses half-an-hour to get from the Paragon Interchange to Hull Royal Infirmary.
Black Friday started as an event in the US to mark the day when retailers return to profit. In recent years, it has spread to the UK. Many retailers were offering big discounts on high-priced goods. Some of the deals are set to continue over the weekend.
At Asda's Kingswood store, more than 300 people queued up outside ahead of the start of the sales at 8am.
Laura Butcher, 28, of Bransholme, was at the front of queue, having been there since 10.30pm on Thursday. Nearly ten hours later she came out with a 40-inch TV for £139.
"Bargain of the century," she said.
Nationally, Asda said its 440 participating stores sold 8,000 TVs in the first 60 minutes. More than 10,000 tablets went in the first two hours. To stop any chaos, security guards allowed in 10 customers at a time.
In Hull city centre, Tesco at St Stephen's Shopping Centre started its sales at midnight, selling everything from TVs to laptops. Customers queued outside the door for the sale to begin, with a line of people reaching Ferensway.
However, not everybody went home happy with their purchases. Christine Bonell wrote on Facebook: "We got there at 11.45pm, didn't get through the door till 2.30am and what have I got to show for it? A Dolce Gusto Machine. Never again. Load of hype for nothing really."Asda deals• Archos 70 7 inch Tablet – £29 (RRP £69).• Polaroid 32 inch TV – £89 (RRP £179).• Skylanders Trap Team Starter Pack – for X Box 360; Wii; PS3; X Box 1; PS4; Tablet – £29 (RRP £54.99).• X Box 1 – Console, Xmen Blue Ray, Call of Duty, Sunset Overdrive and 12 months points – £329 (RRP £437).
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