Retailers in Europe fear the entire Christmas season could be the worst in a decade as shoppers cut back on spending and operating costs continue to rise, squeezing their profit margins.

European traders hope that the discounts on "Black Friday" will encourage customers to spend more and push the crisis of living standards into the background, writes Hina.

Double-digit inflation has eroded consumer purchasing power, and confidence is at or very close to record lows as soaring energy bills push up the cost of living. However, in order to control their finances as much as possible, consumers started their Christmas shopping earlier this year, and it seems that many will still "open the wallet", Hina writes.

Britons will spend £8,7bn (€10,1bn) on Black Friday (November 25-28), roughly the same as last year, GlobalDate's VoucherCodes research shows. But the 0,8 percent growth estimate masks a big drop in sales volume when inflation is taken into account. This year, consumers will use Black Friday more for impulse purchases and Christmas gifts than for larger and longer-delayed purchases, according to consulting firm McKinsley.

Their research shows that a quarter of UK consumers have already done their Christmas shopping and only around a dozen plan to do the bulk of their shopping on Black Friday itself. The European price comparison portal Idealo writes that 65 percent of Italians who shop online are ready to buy a product during the "festival" of consumption. In France, 70 percent of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, according to a survey by PwC France. Spaniards are less interested, and only a quarter of them plan to take advantage of the Black Friday deals for Christmas shopping, according to the Spanish Consumer Goods Association.

The US National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that holiday sales will grow at a slower pace this year, but estimates that 166,3 million citizens still plan to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber ​​Monday.

Amazon expects the weakest revenue growth of any holiday period in years. Its workers in several countries, including the US, Germany and France, have been called to strike on Black Friday to fight for higher wages.