Black Friday 2022 falls on November 25 this year but you’d be forgiven for assuming it was earlier as retailers have already started promoting deals, discounts and sales for the major shopping event aimed at kick-starting festive spending.
With energy prices and the cost of living rising, we’re all trying to save money now more than ever and Black Friday can be a great way to snap up some bargains and cross items off Christmas lists.
But while there are some great deals to be had, it’s easy to get caught up in a flurry of emails offering exciting-sounding offers which may not be everything they seem.
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Here are our top tips on how to maximise savings on the things you really want this Black Friday.
Start your research early
This seems obvious and we all do this without thinking to some extent, but if you’ve got specific products you’re looking to buy then doing the legwork early can make a massive difference.
This year I’m looking at buying Nintendo Switch Lites for my children as their main Christmas gifts. Figuring out which of the three models I need to buy - the cheapest, thankfully - and then looking at the different stockists who sell bundles, and the kind of games they add to these types of sets, has given me a good understanding of exactly what I’m looking for when the deals come in.
Know the numbers
Sites such as CamelCamelCamel, which tells you the lowest prices products have been sold for on Amazon, and Idealo, which does something similar but with current prices across hundreds of different UK online retailers, can give you an idea of how much things are likely to be reduced by and help you plan ahead.
With Idealo you can also set up a price alert so you get sent an email at a point it drops below your ideal discount - this is particularly helpful when sites are starting to reduce products early and if you’ve got your eye on something that is likely to sell out quickly due to high demand.
Check your inbox
If this all sounds a bit exhausting, don’t panic. There’s a simple way to bring the bulk of the deals direct to you, and you won’t even have to keep reading the Liverpool Live website (although of course, we recommend you do that too).
Many sites and brands are launching their Black Friday deals before the day and we know of many, including Oodie, Kuddly, Ninja and Elemis have already said they will be giving their email subscribers early access and sneak peeks to the best deals before they go live.
If a dupe just won’t do and there are brands that you consider must-buy, then sign up for their emails now to ensure you hear about their deals as soon as they go live.
Maximise your savings with cashback and other offers
Savvy shoppers who use cashback sites like TopCashback or Quidco should definitely keep an eye on them for additional bonuses at this time of year. Meanwhile, if you haven’t signed up yet there are likely to be introductory offers that make it worthwhile.
Every time you shop via a site like this you get a percentage of what you’ve paid offered back as cashback. Depending on what you’re buying and how disciplined you are in checking everything you spend online before you click ‘buy’ you can quickly accrue a nice chunk of money back.
What’s more, people signing up to TopCashback for the first time can get a £10 bonus on their first £10 spend at a wide range of sites including Amazon, Boots, M&S, Dunelm and more.
It’s not just cashback sites that can offer you additional money off this Black Friday though. It’s worth taking a look through your purse or wallet to see whether you have your Tesco Clubcard , Boots Advantage Card or Superdrug Beauty Card - all of which give additional perks and discounts to their customers which can potentially be stacked up to increase savings.
Take precautions
With online shopping being such a feature of modern life, we’re all pretty aware of the steps you can take to make sure a site is legit - from checking their Trustpilot or Google review ratings through to ignoring links in text messages or poorly spelt emails that may be phishing scams rather than the sites they purport to be.
Despite all this, sometimes something will slip through that isn’t everything it says it will be - whether it’s that you don’t get your chosen item at all or what you get isn’t fit for purpose or gets lost in the post.
The Consumer Credit Act and rules around distance selling means that if you pay with a credit card you’ll find it easier to get your money back than you would if you’d paid with a debit card, up to a value of £30,000.
For additional peace of mind on everything you buy this Black Friday and particularly for sites you’re not familiar with this is a good precaution to take if you have a credit card.
You can pay the balance off immediately if you’re concerned about ending up in debt, but it gives you protection against any issues arising from your order.
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