One million small UK businesses boycotting Black Friday this week
Over a fifth (22%) of small businesses in the UK are boycotting Black Friday this year, according to a new poll from business insurance expert MoneySuperMarket.
The research reveals the country’s business owners are considering how commercially strategic taking part in the discount event is, with over a million deciding that participating in Black Friday doesn’t hold much value for their business.
Over a third of small businesses claim they don’t see significant sales benefits from taking part in Black Friday sales, and that they prefer to run promotions on their own terms at other times of the year. A third of small business owners also suspect that discounts can devalue their brand, products and services.
Alicia Hempsted, a business insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “Our latest research shows business owners are increasingly asking whether slashing prices aligns with their brand values and long-term strategy. By choosing when and how to run promotions, they’re prioritising sustainable growth and customer loyalty over short-term sales spikes.”
Many small business owners plan to skip Black Friday because they support more sustainable consumer habits. Among those not participating, 45% believe there should be greater emphasis on buying local and supporting small businesses. Additionally, 35% say they disagree with the overconsumption encouraged by flash sales.
While over half (55%) of the UK’s small businesses still plan to take part in Black Friday, many owners who are participating are doing so without strong convictions; 56% of small business owners taking part in Black Friday this year admit that they aren’t sure of the reasons why.
Reasons Small Businesses Aren’t Participating in Black Friday 2025
Reason for not taking part in Black Friday | % of small business owners not taking part in Black Friday who agree |
I believe there should be more focus on ‘buying local’ or ‘shopping small’ | 45% |
I don’t see significant sales benefits from participating | 38% |
I don’t agree with the overconsumption culture these events promote | 35% |
I believe the discounts devalue my products, services or brand | 33% |
I run my own promotions at different times of the year | 31% |
I can’t afford to offer high discounts as a small business | 27% |
It doesn’t align with my business values or brand identity | 27% |
One in ten business owners believes the promotional event helps clear old stock, can help attract sales in the short term and increase brand awareness, but only one in twenty small business owners sees Black Friday as an important part of their business strategy.
According to Google search trends, consumers in the UK are showing less interest in Black Friday as well. Looking at the last five years of search trend data, there were 17 million online searches for ‘Black Friday’ in November 2020, compared to 15 million for the same period last year, a 12% decrease. This bucks the worldwide trend, which has remained fairly static since 2020. Furthermore, the nation is searching for ‘shop small’ nearly 200,000 times a month, an 18% increase compared to last year.