PHYSICAL retail is “alive and kicking” after shoppers returned to the shops for the Black Friday weekend.

The boss of Beales in Poole has said trade was stronger than expected as shoppers took advantage of discounts.

Tony Brown, chief executive of Beales owner New Start 2020, said: “We had a very strong Black Friday weekend. I believe the Dolphin Centre had a great weekend so physical shopping in Poole is alive and kicking.”

He said Friday had been “much better than we thought it would be”.

Mr Brown also said it “looks like shoppers are migrating to Poole from Bournemouth”.

John Grinnell, centre manager at Poole’s Dolphin Centre, said: “Black Friday weekend was a brilliant success for our diverse retailers in Poole. The discounts on offer certainly made a difference for shoppers.

"In particular, Beales had the most offers available in store over the weekend, and there are still some great sales running in the centre for the next few days for the public to enjoy.

“We saw an increase in footfall in the centre over the weekend compared to last year which created a vibrant atmosphere, complemented by our brand-new Christmas decorations. There was such a buzz in the centre, and it really was the best way to kick-start the festive season at the Dolphin.

"As Christmas is fast approaching, our retailers both in the centre and our Kingland family of independent brands, are geared up for another busy few weeks with our late-night shopping launching this Thursday.”

Paul Kinvig, chief operating officer at Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), said: “It was busy. We had reports from retailers that they did very well.

“The retailers who do best are the ones where the online and in-store experience are one offering. It’s when those work together that they do really well.”

Nationally, there were signs that spending was strong on Black Friday itself.

Nationwide Building society said its customers made 9.72million transactions – 16 per cent higher than a typical Friday and 40 per cent up on 2020. The level of spending was up 36 per cent on the last pre-pandemic year, 2019.

Footfall analyst Springboard found visits to shopping centres were up 16.8 per cent on Friday compared with the week before, while footfall across all retail destinations rose by 3.2 per cent.

But compared with 2019, footfall was down 14.1 per cent nationally across the week and 17.5 per cent down on Black Friday.