Throughout the years, Black Friday has become more popular with every passing 12 months and, following on from some of the huge online deals we saw in 2020, we’re expecting 2021 to look quite similar due to the ever-changing coronavirus pandemic.
This year, Black Friday will take place on November 26th - the first Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States.
What we have to look out for this year however, is the lack of products already on the shelves due to some of the other problems the UK is facing, such as a shortage of supply chain drivers and the like.
Due to this, we’ve already seen an increase in prices, and when price comparison website PriceRunner examined the stock status of toys across their site, they discovered that 11% of all toys were out of stock entirely.
Consumer Expert Christine Gouldthorp comments: "We've seen that prices have already started to increase ahead of Black Friday. This in combination with the struggle for retailers to get enough stock in shops has created a perfect storm. This year will be a Black Friday like we've never seen before. If I can give any advice, plan your purchases for Black Friday and Christmas soon to make sure what you want is available and arrives on time.”
So, exactly how will we make sure we are actually getting a good deal this Black Friday, rather than simply paying the usual price for a product which has had its price inflated ahead of the big day itself?
Last year, every fifth deal on Black Friday was 'fake', meaning that every one in five (22%) discounted products were not genuine discounts at all.
Gouldthorp adds: “We will likely see some discounts on different types of products than usual, with retailers avoiding to lower prices on high-demand products that are hard to get on shelves, in order to not run out of stock completely and disappoint consumers.”
With 'fake' deals being completely legal, consumers will have to be more savvy than ever before to make sure they're actually getting bang for their buck. Some of the products they should look out for in particular are fragrances, vacuum cleaners, washing machine, kettles, skincare, toys, TVs and cosmetics.
Of course, there was crossover when it came to the best deals, as shown below, so you really have to do your research…
Head on over to Pricerunner's Black Friday page for all of the best deals and discounts, all in one easy place.