Where will the best bargains be on Black Friday?

Bag the best deals on Black Friday

With Black Friday officially taking place tomorrow, where could the best deals be found? How do shoppers best prepare for the big day? Based on an analysis of more than 20,000 product prices, PriceRunner reveals the product categories most likely to have the best sales tomorrow and expert tips on how to get the most bang for your buck.

PriceRunner has been analysing over 20,000 prices from the UK’s 50 most popular retailers since the end of August this year, to find out where the best deals and discounts might be during Black Friday this year.

Out of all products in the analysis, 12.5% have since then increased in price by on average 19.6%, up until seven days ago. During the last week, 11.2% of all products have decreased in price by on average 14.5%.

When looking closer at potential great deals tomorrow, PriceRunner found that several categories have already decreased in price. The most popular Black Friday categories with the biggest price decreases right now are (compared to a week ago):

• Electric toothbrushes: 41%
• Media players: 33%
• Xbox 1 games: 31%
• Vacuum cleaners: 30%
• PlayStation 5 games: 26%
• Massage & relaxation products: 26%
• Printers: 23%
• Irons: 22%
• Routers: 22%
• Shoes 22%
• Watches: 22%
• Fragrances: 20%
• Shavers & trimmers: 19%
• Bags: 19%
• Furniture: 18%
• Tablets: 17%
• Toys: 12%

(% = average price change in the category)

Where were the best deals last year?

If 2021 looks anything similar to last year, the largest price reductions could this year also be found in categories within consumer tech, gadgets for the home and toys.

Out of the more than 12,000 products PriceRunner analysed on sale on Black Friday last year, the top 10 product categories with the biggest average discounts were:

Looking at individual products, last year shoppers could save up to almost 60 percent on single items, with some of the best products found in categories such as clothes and consumer tech.

PriceRunner revealed the 10 best discounts on Black Friday last year from their price analysis:

Best tips for shopping the Black Friday sales

Giving her advice on how to get the most out of the sale, Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner, shared her top tips on how to bag a bargain during the Black Friday sale.

Top tips for the best discounts:

1. Use a comparison site to get the best price today on the product you want to buy, don’t just check a couple of your favourite websites as there is a high likelihood of a better deal somewhere else
2. When you’ve found the product you want, remember to check its price history to make sure the price hasn’t been increased before the sale
3. Keep track of the products you want by setting a price alert for them, getting an email or app notification when they drop in price, let someone else do the work for you!
4. Make a list of what you actually need during Black Friday to avoid getting carried away by deals and buying things you don’t need.
5. The best deals are usually found on Black Friday, although some retailers have extended their sales period to the full week. However, there are often even greater price reductions on Cyber Monday on the products that are left, just don’t wait too long as stock will likely run out quickly this year.

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Notes

The survey was conducted by the YouGov analysis institute. A total of 2138 CAWI interviews took place of people living in UK aged 18+ during the period of 8th - 11th of October 2021.