Yahoo Finance Black Friday sales and discounts: Where to find the best offers
Black Friday - the day when UK retailers cut prices on a huge range of essential items - is almost here. Come November 24, on what is now Britain's biggest shopping event of the year, shoppers can expect deals on big-budget electrical items, beauty gift sets, kitchen electricals and high-street fashion.
A huge array of retailers get involved - from Amazon to Currys PC World, John Lewis to Topshop. But which retailers should you be targeting come the sales weekend?
How can I find the best deals?
Although it's still too early to know exactly where the best deals are this year, there are several ways you can make sure you're the first to know as soon as shops start releasing their discounts.
The Telegraph will be updating our Black Friday channel with offers as soon as they're made available, so make sure you've bookmarked it ahead of the big day.
Sign up to email updates from retailers and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - this way you can make sure you get all the information first. Plus, if retailers you're interested in have apps then make sure download them.
Bear in mind that many retailers cut prices on items before Black Friday actually arrives to keep ahead of competitors, so keep your eyes peeled for emails and social media updates from the middle of November.
It's also a good idea to do your research and earmark what products and models you want to buy well in advance. That way, you'll immediately know where to look and how good the offers are as soon as the deals are released.
Which shops don't take part in Black Friday?
The sales weekend might seem ubiquitous but it's not: several big-name retailers eschew the event.
Anyone hunting for a DIY or homeware bargain should keep in mind that Ikea and Homebase didn't take part last year. Some retailers, like Selfridges, created their own event - a non-Black Friday sales push that coincidentally took place on Black Friday.
Meanwhile Apple surprised shoppers by getting involved last year, although their presence was somewhat underwhelming. While in previous years the tech giant rejected the sales event, in 2016 they buckled to the pressure and offered a gift card worth up to £120 with the purchase of certain (lesser known) Apple products. If you want a new Apple product, it's best to look at offers from department stores and network providers instead of going straight to the source.
Which shops offered the best deals last year?
Curryscut a quarter off a Canon EOS 1300D DSLR camera and a third off a Samsung washing machine, as well as knocking 50 percent off a DeLonghi Magnifica coffee machine and a third off HP's 15.6 inch silver laptop.
Plus, John Lewis cut £150 from the KitchenAid 150 stand mixer, eBay knocked a third off the Acer Inspire ES AMD E1 laptop and Laptops Direct reduced the Asus ZenBook Pro by £410.
Debenhams halved the prices of a plethora of items, from the Krups Dolce Gusto Oblo coffee machine to the Tefal food mixer to the Nutri Ninja personal blender.
Last year Amazon offered 43 per cent off the Philips food processor and 65 per cent off an Oral-B rechargeable toothbrush, while Argos reduced an Anki bundle from £199.99 to £169.99, a Samsung VR headset from £84.99 to £64.99 and a gaming chair for PS4 and Xbox One from £149.99 to £129.99.
Selfridges cut 20 per cent off the Sophia Webster Evangeline winged satin heeled sandals while Toys R Us reduced the LEGO Friends Heartlake Performance School by 50 per cent.
Shoppers looking for DIY and homeware deals also managed to bag some great bargains in 2016, with Dyson reducing the Big Ball Total Clean by £130.01, Halford knocking almost two thirds off the Advanced 200 Piece Socket and Ratchet spanner set and B&Q cutting £30 off the Hive active heating control thermostat.
Lots of retailers discounted older iPhone models (from Currys PC World to Carphone Warehouse to Tesco Mobile), so if you want an upgrade but the iPhone 8 isn't for you then this is the weekend to make your purchase.
Boost your Black Friday discounts
You can save even more by using a cashback credit card, whether you're buying in a shop or online. We've rounded up the best deals from American Express, Barclaycard, Santander, Tesco and Asda Money here.
