BLACK Friday has arrived and the region’s shoppers are set to take to the high street in their droves, as retailers slash their prices for one day only.

According to research from retail finance experts Pay4Later, nearly three quarters of people from the North-East plan to do some form of Christmas shopping this Friday.

Black Friday, which originated in the US as a sales day to follow Thanksgiving, is the latest retail phenomenon to arrive in the UK, with retailers offering massive discounts.

The research suggests that North East shoppers plan to take advantage of the sales more than almost every region of the UK.

Seventy-three per cent of respondents from the region said they planned to do some form of Christmas shopping – only London tallied higher at 79 per cent.

At a national level, the figures suggest that 46 per cent of people plan to do 10 per cent or more of their Christmas shopping, with about 940,000 people aiming to do 90 per cent or more of their festive buying.

Scott Law, CEO of Pay4Later, said: “The discounts on offer for Black Friday will enable shoppers to make major savings on their festive spending and it is going to be a very busy day for retailers.”