Black Friday has been known as the best day to hunt for a bargain as long as you’re wearing protective clothing and don’t mind fighting in the aisles.
However, a surge in online sales during the early hours on Friday, left high street stores looking deserted compared to the previous years.
Black Friday is increasingly becoming an internet bonanza, shoppers are predicted to go on a £1.97bn spending spree - setting a new record - with more than half spent on the internet.
John Rogers, the new chief executive officer of Argos,told the BBC that there had been 500,000 visits to the retailer’s website in the first hour of online trading, between midnight and 1am.
That is up 50 per cent - on last year.
The retailer expects to see a peak in demand between 7am and 10am on Friday, as customers on their way to work use their smartphones to shop.
The company has also spread its Black Friday sale over 13 days this year – starting earlier this week and running through into next.
Meanwhile, Curry PC World’s Black Friday deals webpage appears to have suffered just after midnight, according to tweets from early shoppers.
One customer said: "Curry how is this happening?"
Another shared her disappointment by posting: "Glad I waited up for this".
A spokeswoman said: "Currys PC World’s website experienced a few issues for a short period of 15 minutes just after midnight. The majority of customers were still able to access the site and place orders but we understand that some shoppers had problems loading the pages."
"This was quickly rectified and we have had no further reported issues. We’ve already seen over half a million visitors to the site between midnight and 6am this morning (with orders up 40 per cent for the same period last year) with the Google Chromecast, Samsung Galaxy Tablets and JVC 32” TVs being the most popular items for shoppers."
Meanwhile, on the high street, stores were off to a slow start.
Only 20 people were seen queuing at Tesco in Trafford.
Shoppers also shared images of empty Sainsbury’s stores on social media, with one user saying she posted a shopper walking out from the store with just three baguettes.
In 2014, more than a dozen police officers attended the Tesco store on Glover Drive, Upper Edmonton, as scuffles broke out between eager and frustrated shoppers. Customers were seen tearing down cardboard hoardings put in place to hold back sale items until the stroke of midnight.
Online spending on Black Friday is expected to reach £1 billion, up 16 per cent on last year, while it is anticipated that the majority who opt for the High Street will spend a lower total of around £961 million.
