Aldi takes swipe at rivals as it shuns Black Friday

Discount supermarket Aldi took a swipe at rivals as fights broke out across the UK with shoppers pushing and shoving their way to a cheap telly on Black Friday.

While most retailers are pinning their hopes on the American shopping frenzy to kick-start festive sales, the German grocer took to Twitter to explain why it's not taking part in Black Friday: Every Friday is Black Friday at Aldi.

Earlier today, scenes of chaos invaded the high street as shoppers fought their way to a Black Friday bargain. At least three people were arrested in the mayhem and several people were injured, including one woman hit by a television.

But Aldi, along with fellow discounter Lidl, is having none of that and won't be offering special Black Friday promotions. According to the supermarket, it offers low prices all year round, unlike rivals which "confuse" shoppers with ever-changing discounts.

The emergence of German discounters has rattled the hegemony of the traditional Big Four supermarkets - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Walmart-owned Asda- sparking a ferocious price war across the board.

Traditionally an American shopping day, Black Friday has gained relevance in the UK in recent years. More than one in three families will do their Christmas shopping this Friday, according to research by Microsoft and Retail Week, making it the biggest shopping day so far this year.

Last year, Amazon said it processed four million orders, a record for the UK, on Black Friday. At John Lewis, online traffic between 7am and 8am was 14 times more than anything the group had seen before.