Online demand on Black Friday will peak at 8am on 24 November, up 55 per cent on the daily average, according to e-commerce analysts Summit.

The insight from Summit uses data from more than 10 years of peak trading, based on millions of online searches. It found that Black Friday retailers can expect peaks at 8am and earlier in the day at 1am – as four times more than the daily average head online to take advantage of the sales.

This follows the move by many retailers, such as Argos and Curry’s PC World, who are increasingly starting Black Friday promotions at midnight; indeed, the period between midnight and 1am was Argos' biggest trading hour on Black Friday last year, with 8,000 visits per minute and 15 orders per second.

The devices used also fluctuate throughout the day as shoppers move from mobile, to desktop, to tablet. Summit predicts that mobile searches will peak between 8-9am, representing almost 10 per cent of all visits per hour. Similarly, Summit predicts that tablet based searches will peak between 9pm and 10pm.

Martin Corcoran, head of insight at Summit, said: “Retailers need to understand the role each device plays in the Black Friday journey. Mobile is of increasing importance during the morning commute, as customers rush to get the best offers. However, in the evening shoppers prefer to ‘dual screen’ and this is where paid media supports TV advertising which acts as an important buying trigger, sending people online while they watch TV.”

“If retailers hold the majority of their online advertising budget until after the working day at 5pm, they risk missing nearly 70 per cent of Black Friday’s traffic and sales, so they need to front-load their budget phasing during the day to ensure they are top of mind during the conversion phase in the Black Friday purchase journey.”

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