How to get the best Black Friday bargains

Black Friday will soon be here. Friday November 25th to be exact. And many people view it as the most important day of the year to bag a bargain.

But is it really?

In this article we take a look at the origins of Black Friday, which retailers will be taking part, and how to make the most of Black Friday 2022 and save money.

So how did Black Friday start?

Black Friday originates in the USA and is always the day immediately after Thanksgiving. It marks the official start of the Christmas shopping season. The name is thought to derive from the fact that bBusinesses participating in Black Friday hope to see their bank balances in the black for the rest of the year as a result of all the sales they make on Black Friday!

Black Friday still feels like something of a new phenomenon in the UK, particularly after the last couple of years of Covid restrictions. But in reality, it first entered our radar in the UK in 2010, when Amazon offered huge online Black Friday discounts to British customers. And then in 2013, Black Friday really hit the headlines when Asda – at that time owned by US store Walmart – publicised in-store Black Friday bargains, and fights broke out over cut price TVs.

Like so many sales, Black Friday has now extended far beyond the day itself. First there was Cyber Monday, which retailers used to extend the principle of Black Friday but just for online goods. And now we increasingly see Black Friday bargains extend for several days or longer, sometimes even for the whole month of November.

Five ways to make the most of Black Friday

It seems that Black Friday is here to stay in the UK, and gets bigger every year. So let’s take a look at how to make the most of it and save money!

Decide in advance what you want to buy

Whether you plan to hit the stores or shop online, you stand the best chance of getting a real bargain if you know what you are looking for. It’s better to focus on a couple of specific things that you really need, and put time and effort into hunting down the best bargains.

Do your research

It’s also important to do a bit of research in advance. Unless you are really familiar with the details and specifications of the items you want you could end up thinking you’ve got a real bargain, only to find it’s not. For example, it could be an outdated spec of the item, or might not have all the features you expected.

Know what is a good price

Not only do prices vary incredibly between retailers, but there’s always the small print at sales with details of when the sale item was at a higher price. To get the best price, you need to know the best price your item was selling at before Black Friday. Even though the Black Friday price may appear to be a huge saving, when you read the small print, you may find that the item has been selling for cheaper than the original price for a while.

So do your homework now to get a good idea of the genuine current price and which retailers are already offering the best deals. You will then be well placed to track down a genuine Black Friday bargain and save money.

Be purposeful

There are many distractions on Black Friday, whether you are shopping in store or online. But remain purposeful so that you get the item(s) you originally decided you wanted. Otherwise, you could end up spending money you don’t really have on other items you don’t really need, and may even miss out on the item(s) you were originally looking for.

Check the returns policy

Even though you are buying sale items, you should still be entitled to return items if there is anything wrong with them., or if you realise they are not what you wanted. But if you are buying from a store or online site you have not used before, Iit’s worth reading the small print to make sure this is the case, and to understand what you would could have to do should you decide to return something after Black Friday is all over.

Which retailers will be offering Black Friday deals?

Usually most major retailers take part, and the really special deals on big ticket items can save you hundreds of pounds. Here are a few examples of UK retailers taking part in Black Friday 2022 who already have Black Friday landing pages on their website;

Others have not yet announced their Black Friday plans but are likely to do so nearer the time. For example:

It is also worth searching online for specific retailers or products that you are interested in buying from, to see if they have anything on offer. Try Googling the retailer or item into Google, along with the search term “Black Friday” and see if there are Black Friday offers available.

Enjoy Black Friday, and we hope you find the items you’re looking for at the very best price. We hope that the information in this article helps you to save money by shopping wisely on Black Friday this year.

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