Forget Black Friday, most Brits are too busy cheating

So, with Black Friday in full swing, Internet connections across the country must be burning with activity today, as, according to one study, millions of Brits were due to get up at 5am this morning in an attempt to grab a bargain.

However, bargain grabbing is not the only activity on the cards if our old friends at Illicitencounters.com are to be believed. You see, this year Black Friday is also Unfaithful Friday, with over 80% of adulterers planning to see their extramarital partner today.

Apparently, communication activity on the site has been rock hard all week, with more messages exchanged than at any other time of the year.

In fact, more cheaters meet up on this day than on any other day of winter because it is the last time they will be able to see their secret lovers this year, before the festive period fills their time with family, and other obligations that run into 2025.

But, as ever, I hear you ask, what has this got to do with marketing? Well, while everyone is obsessing about how to target Black Friday shoppers, travel, tourism and hospitality marketers could be in for bulging profits due to the fact that almost half of cheaters book the evening away, with city breaks the most popular choice.

And, with more than a third of love rats intending to spend the entire weekend with their lover, London tops the list of destinations followed by Paris, and finally Edinburgh completes the top three.

Naturally, this is where creative thinking comes in. So, if your boss is off on a “business trip” this weekend, or claiming to be “catching up with friends” you can almost guarantee he or she will be hard at over the next 48 hours and will no doubt be looking pretty knackered come Monday morning.

As IllicitEncounters.com spokesman Ivor Biggun explained: “Over the Christmas period there is very little free time for most of us. It’s hard enough to make time for extramarital activities without having to think about all of the obligations that come with Christmas. It makes sense that so many adulterers choose to have a final romp before being overwhelmed by the season’s obligations.

“While London might not be the most romantic city in the world, it is hardly surprising that it topped our list of popular destinations. There are hundreds of hotels to suit all tastes and budgets. It’s the business hub of the country making it easy to use work as the perfect cover to spend a night in the city.”

If only my life had such excitement. Ah well, back to the retail therapy…

Follow Foxy on X and Instagram if you must, but don’t get too excited as I’m never there