Black Friday is a global phenomenon which grows in both revenue and duration every year.

Originally an American event taking place the day after Thanksgiving, it has now cemented its place in the UK retail calendar as the biggest shopping day of the year.

Many shoppers will be looking to grab a Christmas gift and studies show 40% of customers begin researching their Christmas shopping list in October. This makes Black Friday the ideal event for boosting seasonal sales.

With Black Friday 2017 generating £4.5 billion in the UK alone, it's never too early for retailers to start preparing. Investing in some Black Friday sale signage and Black Friday banners is the first step to getting your point of sale ready for your winter promotions.

Start early

It's never too early to start preparing your Black Friday signs and marketing to build suspense around upcoming price drops. Use social media, emails, Black Friday sale signage and in-store leaflets to give customers a sneak peek at what you will be offering this November.

Electronics are typically the best sellers on Black Friday. Learn from previous years and stock up on the most popular items, display them near the front and keep your price competitive.

Shop sale signage

Optimise your store

Your store needs to be ready for increased crowds and optimised to make shopping easy.

People generally don't go to stores on Black Friday for a leisurely shop. They know what they want and want to get it quickly and leave. Many of your shoppers will have already researched your sale online.

All of your primary sale offers should be at the front of your store on your main promotional aisle, with prominent Black Friday signs. This way, Black Friday shoppers can come in and find what they want with the least possible disruption to the rest of your store.

Avoid disruption

Some retailers operate a one-in-one-out system. People can begin to queue and then, once the sale officially opens, only 10 or so people are allowed in the store at once. This is a great way to operate a fair first-come-first-served system to avoid trouble.

Make sure your products are clearly labelled with shelf talkers, posters or showcard frames and not all crammed into one location. For example, spread your TVs around to avoid crowds gathering in one place.

Shop shelf edge signage

Prep your staff

Making sure your staff are fully prepared for your Black Friday event is another way to help avoid disruption. Firstly, you should have more staff in than a normal Friday. Consider the length your store will be open, the number and length of breaks to be taken in the day and the number of staff for each department.

Your staff should know your sale inside and out. Let them know as far in advance as possible what your Black Friday deals are, how much items are discounted by, if there is more stock available and, most importantly, whether there is a limit to the number of items per person.