It’s meant to be the biggest day in the retail calendar but a visit to Oxford Street today felt sombre compared to the build up to Black Friday.

Try visiting at 5.30pm during the week and then you’ll know what a rush is. Or any Saturday.

Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street

There were no queues snaking outside, no frantic shoppers trying to grab a bargain, no wrestling on the floor.

Trying to find shoppers with their hands full of shopping was almost impossible. There were more empty-handed shoppers and tourists taking pictures with their selfie sticks.

After the crazy scenes of last year, were most people choosing to shop online or did they just have Black Friday fatigue?

For those that were shopping on Oxford Street, were they there solely because it was Black Friday, because it was the fourth Friday before Christmas, or because it’s pay day and they can afford to splash out? Or all of the above?

Shopper survey

“I think people are out for this Black Friday thing,” the man handing out copies of the Evening Standard told me. “I’m just doing my Christmas shopping,” one woman hurriedly replied when I asked if she was there for Black Friday.

“There were no queues snaking outside, no frantic shoppers trying to grab a bargain, no wrestling on the floor. Trying to find shoppers with their hands was almost impossible”

Suzanne Bearne

Sat outside of H&M on Oxford Street in his Information box, Tony Johnson, who directs tourists across the West End says he hadn’t noticed more footfall. “You always get more of a rush on a Friday as people come out as they want to avoid the rush on a Saturday.”

Still, I did meet some shoppers who had descended on the UK’s biggest shopping street to pick up some bargains.

Molly Hagues, 16, arrived into central London at 9am to make sure she grabbed some good deals. Armed with bags from retailers such as Primark and Topshop, she’d spent about £145, saving around £40, she estimated. But like other shoppers I spoke to, much of her shopping had been spent on full-price goods.

“A lot of the shops say 50% off but actually it’s a lot less. Selfridges was like 10% off.”

Full-price boost

So while the whole promotions around Black Friday had perhaps encouraged some shoppers to get out and shop, it proved successful in helping retailers shift full-price products too. It also no doubt helped drive customers to retailers that didn’t participate such as Next and Adidas.

But shoppers and retail staff alike told me footfall was picking up as the day progressed.

“Black Friday started yesterday for us and will run for five days,” says Jadine Johnson-Lowe, a sales adviser manning the front desk at Topshop. “It’s picking up now. We’re a lot busier than last year because more people seem to know about it.” But she added that she thought the rise in footfall was down to a combination of Black Friday and payday.

So while thankfully there were no ugly scenes on Europe’s busiest shopping street, although there was an odd DJ set in Debenhams, Oxford Street seemed just rather Oxford Street.