Black Friday 2018: UK shopping streets deserted as Brits hunt for bargains online instead

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Olivia Tobin23 November 2018

High streets and shopping centres up and down the UK looked deserted today as savvy Black Friday bargain hunters chose to shop online instead .

Online retailers reported heavier than expected spending through the night and into the morning but high streets and shopping centres got off to a slow start.

Many London stores opened early to attract bargain hunters, although there was not the early stampede of shoppers seen in previous years. Shops in Westfield were offering between a third and half off major brands or free gifts.

British shoppers were forecast to spend more than £1.5 billion in a single day in the scramble for deals.

Westfield, in Shepherd's Bush
Alex Lentati

In previous years, early morning shoppers had queued up for hours to get into shopping centres in the UK for Black Friday deals but there did not appear to be any crowds this year.

No queues in Glasgow City Centre
SWNS.COM

The Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, Bluewater in Kent and high streets in Glasgow and London looked completely empty.

The annual budget shopping day first started in America
Alex Lentati

Comparable to Boxing Day sales, Black Friday shopping deals is a tradition that has swept the country after first starting in America.

Streets in Birmingham city centre appear to be quiet for the Black Friday Sales
SWNS.com

Deals on electronic goods, holidays and toys can be found in stores and online with people splashing more cash each year.

Meanwhile, customers were pictured fighting over huge flat-screen televisions in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Shoppers fight over TVs in Sao Paulo, Brazil
EPA

And the hallways of Macy's flagship store on 34th street, in New York, were also crammed with shoppers looking for the best money-saving buys.

An enormous crowd of people were also seen waiting outside a Nike store in Thessaloniki, Greece, early on Friday

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