Black Friday deals are not always the cheapest price of the year, with research showing that a vast majority of products are available at the same or lower prices at other times. While genuine discounts exist, many items are marketed as deals despite being cheaper before or after the event.
We found that a massive 98% of products that were on sale on Black Friday 2021 were actually cheaper or the same as their Black Friday price at other times in the year.
Prices were tracked over a full year, from May 2024 to May 2025, including the 2024 Black Friday period. It found that on the day of Black Friday 2024 none of the items it looked at were at the cheapest price they had been over the surrounding year.
It's generally better to shop during Black Friday for the widest range of deals, especially on tech and gaming, but prices before Black Friday or even after Christmas can sometimes beat Black Friday prices for specific items, with many "Black Friday" deals appearing earlier in November. The best strategy involves tracking prices beforehand, buying mid-November if you find a great deal with price protection, or waiting for the main event, as Black Friday still offers significant discounts for many popular products, though you need to watch for inflated "original" prices.
Many genuine holiday retailers offer discounts around Black Friday and Travel Tuesday – which this year fall on Friday and December 2 respectively – but criminals also use the busy period to promote fake holidays at suspiciously low prices.
Black Friday discounts average around 26% to 38%, but this varies significantly by product, with some studies showing far less genuine savings, as many retailers inflate prices beforehand, making it appear as a bigger discount than it is. While you can find good deals, research suggests many products are often cheaper or the same price at other times of the year, with some reports stating up to 80% of Black Friday items aren't at their lowest price ever during the sale.
No, Black Friday is no longer just one day; while it's traditionally the Friday after Thanksgiving, sales now often start in early November and extend through the whole month, the Black Friday weekend, and culminate on Cyber Monday, creating a prolonged sales event. Many retailers offer deals for weeks, turning it into a "Black Friday Week" or even a month-long period to manage crowds and capture early shoppers.
January and February are typically considered the slowest months for retail as consumers recover from holiday spending and focus on post-holiday savings. According to statistics, e-commerce sales experienced a significant decline during the summer months, with a drop of up to 30% compared to the high sales of December.
The biggest sales events in the UK are Black Friday/Cyber Monday (late November), offering massive discounts across tech, fashion, and home goods, followed closely by the post-Christmas Boxing Day sales, a traditional peak for deep discounts on everything from electronics to fashion. Other major sales include the Summer Sales (June/July) and January Sales, plus back-to-school deals in August/September.
In our experience, the later you get into a sale, the more likely it is for a product to sell out. So, depending on when you're buying, it really determines when you need to click "add to cart." If it's the week before Black Friday, you may want to wait to make a purchase.
Black Friday discounts average around 26% to 38%, but this varies significantly by product, with some studies showing far less genuine savings, as many retailers inflate prices beforehand, making it appear as a bigger discount than it is. While you can find good deals, research suggests many products are often cheaper or the same price at other times of the year, with some reports stating up to 80% of Black Friday items aren't at their lowest price ever during the sale.
One of the things people dislike the most about Black Friday is the huge crowds of people all vying for the same items. Some people wait outside in the cold just to save a few dollars. The biggest con of all may be the increasing trend of violence during Black Friday events in recent years.
That said, shops will always have something up their sleeves to exclusively reveal on Black Friday itself, so it pays not to buy before the big day unless you're absolutely certain that something better won't come along (at the very least, make sure there's a good returns policy, just in case).
While the tradition first started in the United States, in more recent years, it has been widely adopted by many shops in the UK, both physical and online. It was in the 2010s that several American-owned retailers, like Amazon, Argos and Asda, began to offer Black Friday promotions here in the UK.
Black Friday generally offers better deals, especially for tech and big-ticket electronics, with more items being cheaper in November, but Boxing Day can have deeper discounts on specific leftover items or for fashion/homewares as retailers clear stock post-Christmas, so the best time depends on what you're buying. Track prices to know for sure, but expect Black Friday for volume and Boxing Day for clearing unsold Christmas goods.
Black Friday discounts average around 26% to 38%, but this varies significantly by product, with some studies showing far less genuine savings, as many retailers inflate prices beforehand, making it appear as a bigger discount than it is. While you can find good deals, research suggests many products are often cheaper or the same price at other times of the year, with some reports stating up to 80% of Black Friday items aren't at their lowest price ever during the sale.
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