Black Friday: John Lewis bans staff discounts for online sales

Staff were told they would still be able to use their discounts in store but that they would be temporarily suspended online

A spokeman told the Independent that the change was being make to "deliver a good shopping experience for our customers" (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

John Lewis has banned staff from using their discounts online on Black Friday.

Staff were told they would still be able to use their discounts in store but that they would be temporarily suspended online.

A spokeman told the Independent that the change was being make to "deliver a good shopping experience for our customers" on Black Friday.

High streets have been relatively quiet for Black Friday as customers have switched to shopping online. But huge volumes of traffic has proved challenging, with some websites struggling to cope.

Argos, one of the first retailers to launch Black Friday on November 20, suffered from website outages on its first day of sales.

According to the retail consultant Salmon, by 11am on Black Friday, retailers saw a 106 per cent increase in online sales compared to 2014 and 100 per cent increase in completed orders. The majority - 59 per cent - came from desktop devices, while 41 per cent of traffic came from mobile devices.

The chaos of Black Friday 2014, which saw shoppers fighting in the aisles, has had two big consequences in 2015. First, retailers are being over-cautious - like John Lewis - risking social media backlash.

Second, shoppers have taken the decision to stay home from stores and avoid any potential chaos, putting added pressure on retailers' websites.

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