The John Lewis Christmas advert, which for many unofficially marks the opening of the Christmas shopping period, is now being broadcast.

Great news for retailers, since the run up to Christmas is one of the most lucrative times of the year – so lucrative, in fact, that for years many brands have competed for custom by offering incredibly enticing deals.  

But, since Amazon introduced Black Friday, which takes place on the last Friday of November, to the UK in 2010, more and more of these deals have all been centred on just one day.

So what are retailers planning this year? And is Black Friday good for retail in general? 

This year’s Black Friday is set to be the most lucrative ever, with British shoppers expected to spend more than £1 billion in a single day!

That’s a lot of money. And this year more retailers will be taking part in order to ensure that they get their portion of spending on the day. But, in order to make the most of it, retailers are expected to offer huge discounts in order to attract customers to their store.

In the US, a leaked Black Friday poster from Dell shows an Inspiron 14 laptop being sold for a mere $150 (£97). Another shows an Xbox One bundle being sold for $300 (£195) rather than the original price of $470 (£304).

Though UK retailers have largely managed to keep their deals under wraps thus far, it’s fair to say that we can expect equally drastic price drops to be on offer over here.

Though such amazing deal do, of course, bring consumers into stores, the association of Black Friday with such fantastic deals means that many will simply stampede, struggle, and fight their way into a certain store to pick up a bargain before heading elsewhere to get their hands on the next discount.

In short, with so many retailers offering deals, there’s a danger that consumers will cherry-pick the best discounts from one before moving on to the next, resentful of the mere suggestion of paying full price anywhere (this is Black Friday, the “day of deals”, after all!).

Moreover, by encouraging consumers to do all of their Christmas shopping in one day, Black Friday has been blamed for reducing demand in the weeks immediately leading up to Christmas.

Already, Home Retail Group have issued a profit warning, claiming that they are unsure of how the event would play out, despite spending million on an ad campaign. And, speaking to the Guardian in January, John Lewis boss Andy Street claimed that it was "not in the interests of retailers to continue to grow the pace of Black Friday at the expense of other weeks".

Both of these issues suggest that Black Friday may not be as good for retail as many think. As Tony Shiret, an analyst at Haitong Securities, puts it: “It’s such a misnomer calling it Black Friday, the day you go black as a retailer. It’s the day you give away a load of stuff and screw up your Christmas.”

Indeed, aside from the over-crowding and brawling (which can be avoided as more Black Friday deals have become available online), Black Friday seems to benefit consumers far more than it does stores. Perhaps the idea has now run its course.

What do you think? Is Black Friday bad for retail? Or is it in retailers’ interests to keep this consumerist celebration going?

Email us your thoughts.