Black Friday is nearly upon us, and with it the promises of huge discounts and slashed price points.
Starting in 1960s Philadelphia as a reference to the smog and traffic caused by customers driving in for holiday sales, the term has now made its way across the pond. And what started as just one day now seems to last weeks, with many retailers advertising Black Friday sales already.
Buying tech, clothes, and subscriptions at lower prices is a tempting prospect, especially in the run-up to Christmas. But as we approach the big day on 28 November, money saving expert Martin Lewis has weighed in on how to best take advantage of the mega-sale event.
“Martin’s Black Friday shopping memo: If you were going to buy it anyway and it’s half price, you’ve saved 50%,” he wrote in a post on X.
“If you weren’t going to buy it, but do cos it’s half price, you’ve wasted 100%.”
It comes after research by Mr Lewis’s company MoneySavingExpert.com found many popular items are cheaper on Black Friday than closer to Christmas, making it a good time to buy if it was something you were planning to purchase already.
But following the study, experts warned that just because an item is on sale on Black Friday doesn’t mean you can’t get it cheaper at another time of year.
“The idea that Black Friday discounts are a complete washout is not backed up by our data – compared, that is, to other prices in the run-up to Christmas,” Mr Lewis said on his website.
“Yet that doesn’t mean it won’t be cheaper at other points of the year. Ironically, the best time to do Christmas shopping (apart from for perishables) is likely to be in January.”
He advised customers that waiting to see whether an item is cheaper after Black Friday but before Boxing Day would often be “fruitless”, adding while there is no hard-and-fast rule, the probability is you are likely to save money if you buy on Black Friday.
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“However, marketing patterns do constantly iterate. Years ago, discounts ran across November and December, then as Black Friday became popular in the UK, deals started to concertina around that date,” he added.
“In the past couple of years we’ve seen that loosen though, with the discount date range getting earlier again, and the whole pre-Christmas promotional season expanding once more.”
He also encouraged people to consider whether they really need an item, or can definitely afford it, before splashing out.
