It’s nearing that time of the year again where Christmas adverts will suddenly start popping up everywhere ahead of the holidays.
And although Black Friday is not officially linked to Christmas, it does place the onus on buying discounted presents in preparation for the festive season.
As Covid causes a burden on employment and finances for many, a good bargain can go a long way.
So, if you’re on the hunt for a discounted deal here’s everything you need to know.
Where does Black Friday come from?
Originating in the US, folklore tells of Americans turning over their yearly losses into profit on the bargain day after Thanksgiving. Their balance sheets would then be “in the black”, leading to the name Black Friday.
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Now, Black Friday takes place in countries all over the world, and has become one of the best days to bag yourself items which might be too expensive to afford normally.
What date is Black Friday?
This year’s Black Friday will begin on Friday 26 November and will allow shoppers to purchase heavily discounted goods just in time for the festive period.
Last year’s event was drastically changed by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in the UK.
However, with the success of the vaccine roll-out and easing of Covid restrictions stores are expected to be open this time around, with customers accessing deals first-hand.
As usual Black Friday reductions will also operate online for those who want to avoid in-person sale hungry shoppers, but who would still like to bag a bargain.
Where can I find the best UK bargains?
Most UK retailers will offer some kind of Black Friday offer and Amazon are known for advertising their discounts often at least a week in advance.
For technical gadgets and appliances like laptops or microwaves, Argos, John Lewis, Currys, Tesco and Very usually have good deals available.
Boots, Next, TK Maxx and online retailers Asos, Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing then tend to have great fashion and beauty offers.
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How can I know I’m getting a good deal?
One easy way to establish whether you are getting a good deal or not is to download or visit a price-tracking website.
Once you’ve found what you want to buy, check the price of the items on different shops and websites to see where you can get them at the cheapest price.
Pricehistory.co.uk tracks data for all the items on the Argos website. This means you can see if the item you want to buy was available for a better price at another time of the year. Customers can also set up price alerts to see what items have been reduced each day.
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CamelCamelCamel does a similar thing for Amazon customers by letting them search the price history for all items ever sold on the online retailer.
Shoppers need to enter the URL of a product to reveal its price history. The website then reveals if it has ever been sold at a lower price.
If you’re not an Amazon or an Argos shoppers, Price Spy is another website which tracks prices across hundreds of retailers, including John Lewis, eBay, Hamleys and Very.co.uk.
Will all retailers take part?
No. Some retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, began ducking out of the occasion several years ago.
However, experts believe that in the face of rocketing shipping costs, major delays to orders and a nationwide lorry driver shortage, more will face too many challenges to complete the stocking and restocking necessary for the late-November event.
Logistics experts predict more businesses will bypass the promotional frenzy this winter because of the massive disruption it causes to operations, increased costs of recruiting extra warehouse workers and equipment, and diminished product availability across all sectors importing goods from South East Asia.
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Promotional events such as Black Friday trigger a huge spike in consumer demand, but only for a short time, and the effect of this activity on operations is huge, said Emile Naus, partner at consultancy firm BearingPoint and formerly head of logistics strategy at Marks & Spencer.
“You need more people in warehouses but for a very short amount of time,” Mr Naus said.
“You either bring them in early and train them and they’re standing round doing nothing or you bring them in late and they don’t know what they’re doing, they make mistakes and that has an impact on consumers.”
Simon Geale, executive vice president at Proxima, a procurement consultancy working with retailers and brands including John Lewis, Wilko and Burberry, agreed with his assessment.
“In 2020 there was quite a lot of stock because retailers had been closed but not a lot of [consumer] confidence… In 2021 there is pent-up cash but not the stock,” he said.
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