How to find the best Black Friday deals

With Black Friday only a few days away, it’s time to prepare yourself for the biggest sale of the year. Prices for thousands of products are slashed, allowing you to treat yourself and save lots too. If this sounds good to you then read on to find out how you can find the best deals for Black Friday this year.

Black Friday

Black Friday is a very exciting time because it’s the one time in the year that retailers are very generous, which in turn allows people to buy the things that they’ve been saving for. It originates from the US but Black Friday started to become a thing in the UK in 2014 and it’s now officially a day to go all-out and treat yourself while saving a lot of money too.

This year, Black Friday falls on 23 November and now it’s the perfect time to give you some tips on how you can find the best Black Friday deals.

Online vs in-store

It probably goes without saying that buying online is possibly the easiest way to shop since you can do it from the comfort of your home and you’ll see a much bigger variety of products. The main advantage of it though is avoiding the crazy human traffic that you’ll find in almost every store participating in Black Friday. Apple don’t participate, so just a heads-up.

I would advise that you visit the store as soon as it opens to increase your chances of actually buying the products you want. If you choose to shop online instead then I’d visit the site asap. Most retailers tend to start their deals from 8am onwards. Some websites sometimes crash due to all the traffic on their servers, so you may find that some websites actually introduce a queue-based process, where you cannot access the site until it’s your turn. I’ve only ever experienced this with Currys and only once so hopefully it will not be the case for most online sites.

Finding the best deals

First and foremost, do a bit of research in advance to give yourself an idea of the current cost of the products you want and who sells them for the lowest price. That way, when it comes to Black Friday you’ll know how much of a bargain you’re actually getting and by comparing retailers you will know who is providing the best deal.
This is most definitely the best way to go about finding the best deals as opposed to just looking on the day and buying on the whim.

You should also keep an eye out online for any additional discount codes that you can use, to save even more. If you’re subscribed to newsletters from certain retailers then keep an eye on emails, check their social media pages too and it’s worth checking other sites such as Voucher Codes and Hot UK Deals.

Prices are not discounted on every single product, specifically not items that have recently been released, but there are thousands that do get a nice price cut. I find that there tends to be the best deals and savings on Tech products, such as 4K TVs, laptops and cameras but that list goes on.

Top retailers

Last year, around 91% of stores participated in Black Friday in the UK. So based on last year’s offering, an educated guess can be made around how many will take part this year. All the big retailers usually do but I’d recommend you check out the following list as they tend to have the best deals.

• Amazon
• John Lewis
• Currys / PC World - They have already begun their Black Friday price cuts and they guarantee to refund you the difference if the price is cut further on Black Friday itself. Nice!
• Argos
• Asos - usually 20% off
• AO - Their Black Friday deals have already started

Top 5 deals so far

Some retailers like to get the ball rolling early and have already started slashing prices to some really good products. Here are five of the best deals I’ve seen so far on my search:

1. Sony Xperia XZ2 £299 (was £529, save £170)
2. Samsung 50" Smart 4K TV - £399 (was £599 - save £200)
3. LG America-style Fridge Freezer - £899 (was £1299.99 - save £400.99)
4. MacBook Pro with Touch Bar 15" (2017) - £2199 (was £2499 - save £300)
5. Fitbit Charge 2 HR + Special Edition wristband - £99.99 (was £149.99 - save £50)
6. Samsung All-in-One Sound Bar - £299 (was £599 - save £300)

giffgaff is offering some of the best phone deals around. Click here to check out a roundup of the best.

A friendly warning

Black Friday will leave your wallet feeling lighter and your bank balance not as high. You’ll probably end up seeing really good deals on products that you don’t actually want but suddenly look enticing because of the price or maybe you’ll show your money who’s boss. If you can do the latter then good on you. This is just a light warning.

I hope this blog has been helpful and happy Black Friday-ing.