RETAILERS are set to see whether their Black Friday deals will get people into the shops to snap up pre-Christmas bargains.

The US-inspired sales event has become a fortnight of discounts for many retailers, with British shoppers expected to spend £22.6billion by December 5.

Research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes suggests spending will be up 2.1 per cent on last year, which because of inflation will represent a drop in the number of items bought.

At its height in 2014, the UK’s version of Black Friday saw police called to some shopping destinations as customers battled to get massive discounts on items such as big screen televisions.

John Grinnell, centre manager at Poole’s Dolphin Centre, said: “Black Friday is the perfect opportunity for the public to take advantage of big discounts on the items they’ve been eyeing up for a while. It also comes at a great time of year to help with budgeting for Christmas, and in the current cost-of-living crisis, price cuts can really help our money stretch that little bit further.

“Retailers in the centre have participated in Black Friday for a long time and enthusiasm for the event is as big as ever this year. Several are also extending their sales beyond Friday so that as many customers as possible can benefit from the available offers.”

Twenty of the centre’s shops are offering Black Friday discounts, including big names such as Beales, Body Shop Boots, Deichman, Ernest Jones, H&M, HMV, New Look, River Island and Sports Direct.

Tony Brown, chief executive of New Start 2020, which runs Beales in Poole, said Black Friday had become a “banner” for a longer period of events.

“It’s not the frenzy it used to be in any way shape or form. If you go back to when it first hit these shores, it was massive,” he said.

“It does still drive footfall but I think it’s far less than it used to be.”

But he said there would be attractive discounts at the shops. “There are definitely bargains to be had out there. It’s definitely worth going out there for them,” he said.

Which? has warned many items in Black Friday sales will have been available at the same price or cheaper earlier in the year.

But Mr Brown said: “The savings we put out are genuine. They’re proper reductions.”

Paul Kinvig, chief operating officer for Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), said many major retailers had made Black Friday a part of their plans but some did not.

“It would appear to be another part of how retailers, independent and national, attract customers across the year,” he said.