Not just Black Friday: the five biggest sales in the world

A new study has revealed that Black Friday is going to be huge in the UK. This time last year, retailers made £810 million of online sales in the UK - with Cyber Monday following hot on its heels. It means Black Friday is the biggest online shopping day of the year in this country. But this is not the case elsewhere in the world - where shoppers have not fallen for the charms of the American invention.

The study by ecommerce group, Pepper.com (the firm behind HotUKDeals.com), has tracked down the five biggest shopping days in the world - one of which owes its invention to the British.

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1. Black Friday

Black Friday is top of the pile. In the US in 2014 online retailers took £33.4 billion, while in the UK it was our biggest shopping day of the year last year, and this year it is expected to see sales of £1.5 billion (plus £0.93 billion on Cyber Monday).

Germany has bought into the event too and last year saw sales of £303.84 million (Black Friday) and £209.15 million (Cyber Monday). Meanwhile, in Brazil last year saw Black Friday sales of £197.91 million.

Discount voucher code website Savoo has discovered that five years ago only 15% of UK consumers had heard of Black Friday. Now 89% of Brits have not only heard of Black Friday, but have made a purchase on the day in order to get a good deal.

2. China - singles day

Pepper.com found that Chinese retailers took £9.4 billion on singles day this year. The event takes place on 11 November every year (since it started in 1993). It was launched by single students, with the idea that singles could buy gifts for one another. It has since become by far the biggest online shopping day in the country, and the second biggest shopping day in the world.

3. Mexico - El Buen Fin

This translates as \\\\\\'The Good End\\\\\\', and takes place on the anniversary of the Mexican revolution in November. It is organised by retailers in association with the government - which waives sales tax for the day - and last year saw £7.9 billion of sales. This event is not universally loved by the financial community, some of whom point out that Mexico is not a uniformly rich country, and that spending on the day leads to an enormous number of debt problems.

4. Dubai - Dubai Shopping Festival

The fourth largest shopping event in the world lasts a full month - and is held at some time between the beginning of January and the middle of February. This year it saw sales of £2.71 billion.

5. Australia — Boxing Day

Australia continues to show more enthusiasm for British traditions than the British, as Boxing Day remains the biggest day for sales in Australia. Turnover in 2014 on the day was £0.96 billion.