Think shop closures mean no Black Friday queues? Be prepared for a wait online

Black Friday is famous for pictures of huge queues of shoppers outside department stores, but this year, experts warned, bargain-hunters could face waits of more than an hour online.

With non-essential retailers closed, the majority of sales shopping will take place on the internet with retailers bracing themselves for a record number of orders via the internet.

However, virtual queues to get on to retailers websites have become increasingly commonplace and data from Queue-it, which provides this service to retailers including Currys and Debenhams, suggests the wait could be even longer this year.

The data showed that during Black Friday last year, more than 200 million users waited in a retail-related virtual queue. Data from the year so far suggests that the time spent in such queues could increase by 300 per cent.

Fergal O’Mullane, chief executive and founder of Validify which connects retailers to technology, said: “The need for virtual queuing is caused by sudden spikes in the number of people hitting a website simultaneously and is to prevent the website from being overwhelmed and crashing, it can also be to regulate the volume of transactions for logistical reasons.”

He added: “Everyone is expecting unparalleled spikes in online traffic this Black Friday and for many retailers it is going to be the most important peak trading period in their history.”

Martyn James, a consumer expert at Resolver, said shoppers should avoid the busiest times of day for online shopping if they do not want to endure waits which could last for more than an hour.

“The online shopping rush has been predictable so for retailers that are prepared then this shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “But if retailers haven’t prepared themselves you could face queues of more than an hour.

“You could be staring at the spinning wheel of doom, so be prepared for frustration and to shop at the quiet times.”

He said most people tend to shop online around lunch, just after work between 5pm and 7pm and during prime-time TV while they are sitting on the sofa.

He recommended seeking Black Friday bargains in the early or mid-morning or mid-afternoon, while most people will be working.

Retailers have already set records for the number of orders, with Boots saying it had its biggest day this week, with more than 113,000 orders being sent to customers' homes. Web traffic to its website was also 60 per cent higher than last year.