MANY retailers are set to follow Asda's lead and scale back their Black Friday sales this year, according to research for Bradford law firm Gordons.

Independent research suggested that nine out of ten of the 50 senior retail executives questioned said they would reduce or end their participation in the pre-Christmas promotion which takes place on Friday .

But other findings show that UK shoppers are expected to spend £3.49 billion on bargains over the four days starting with Black Friday, with online sales alone predicted to be up 16 per cent on last year.

Some 14.7 million shoppers will take part in the sales bonanza from this Friday, culminating with Cyber Monday when most workers will be in possession of their last pay cheque of the year, according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research and VoucherCodes.co.uk.

UK shoppers are expected to spend 21 per cent, or £450 million, more over the four days than France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium combined.

And despite last year's crowds and incidents of havoc in stores, the event is expected to boost footfall on the high street, with 13.9 million people expected to do at least some of their shopping in bricks and mortar locations.

However, Gordons' retail partner Andy Brian expects to see a downward trend in Black Friday sales this year.

He said: “Our research confirms Asda’s decision is consistent with the position taken by most other retailers and I would be surprised if we don’t see a general downwards trend in Black Friday sales.

“Trading figures from previous years show that Black Friday does not necessarily increase overall spend in the pre-Christmas period. It creates a sharp spike in sales which in turn presents other challenges for retailers.

“Black Friday puts huge extra pressure on the sales floor and back office operations, not to mention the impact it has on trading before and after the one-day promotion. Argos and Homebase, for example, missed their Christmas forecasts last year despite strong Black Friday figures.

“For many it seems the net benefits of Black Friday simply do not justify the extra pressure on the business, which echoes the announcement made by Asda.”

However, findings by independent market researchers Consumer Intelligence shows that more than six out of ten adults are planning to look for Black Friday bargains.

The research shows 62 per cent of adults are considering buying with nearly half (47 per cent) of shoppers who did not buy on Black Friday last year planning to take part this time.