It had been predicted that shoppers would not spend as much, because of the current cost-of-living crisis.

But an all-time record for sales on Black Friday was made for the number of transactions per second between midday and 1pm.

The data was recorded by Barclaycard Payments, which processes £1 in every £3 spent on UK cards.

It said the World Cup falling on Black Friday provided a ‘welcome boost’ for retailers.

Black Friday is marked every year on the last Friday of November as a day where shops slash the price of items in a bid to attract customers who are shopping for Christmas.

But in recent years retailers have been accused of increasing prices before the day and not offering genuine discounts.

The consumer group Which? this year analysed sales and picked out several items which it thought were a waste of money.

Fraud warning as online transactions rise

Cyber Monday, which falls today, is the second biggest shopping day where online retailers offer more discounts.

As the number of people shopping online rises today, it’s predicted more people will become a victim of credit card fraud.

Around 7,000 people in the UK are expected to fall victim to credit card fraud on Cyber Monday, according to Comparethemarket.com.

It says around £6 million of transactions are estimated to be vulnerable to fraud today. Victims will lose an average of £846 each.

In the last year, 11 million adults had to replace or cancel a credit card as a result of fraud. Over a fifth said the fraud occurred while shopping online.

John Crossley, head of money at comparethemarket.com said: “Cyber fraud is a significant issue for consumers and retailers – especially at this time of the year.

“On Cyber Monday, customers should be extra vigilant, especially as our research suggests falling victim to a scam can cost you dearly. It’s important not to make yourself vulnerable to hackers.

“Ensuring you have separate passwords and pins for different accounts or cards and are familiar will some of the tricks fraudsters use will help keep your money secure.”

“Encouraging for retailers”

Marc Pettican, head of Barclaycard Payments, said: “We’re now able to look at the majority of Black Friday sales data, and we can see that the number of transactions has increased when compared to last year.

“This is encouraging news for retailers who will have been unsure about the outcome of today, given the rising cost-of-living. It will have been helped along by the World Cup coinciding with Black Friday for the first time, providing a welcome boost as football fans head out to socialise and watch the match.

“Retailers will hope the increase in transactions online and in-store will continue into the weekend and Cyber Monday.”