With November just days away, many are beginning to wonder what Black Friday 2022 will look like. It’s the biggest deals event of the year, and one of the most popular times to buy Christmas gifts at bargain prices.
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And if you’ve been perusing deals online (like we are all the time), you may have already seen retailers beginning to build the Black Friday buzz.
Here we’re answering all your questions around Black Friday season and making major predictions on what to expect this year, so you’re fully prepared to snap up the best Black Friday deals on laptops, phones, Apple devices, and anything else you’ve been waiting to get your hands on.
When is Black Friday 2022?
This year Black Friday is on 25 November, one day after US Thanksgiving. The event will be followed by Cyber Monday on 28 November.
How many days is Black Friday?
The boundaries of when Black Friday starts and ends are no longer as well-defined as they used to be. Traditionally, the event lasted one day, whereas now, Black Friday deals begin as early as October.
In the US, Best Buy has already started Black Friday pricing, while Target has kicked off an early Black Friday event with new deals every week in the run-up to Black Friday in November. Walmart has also confirmed that it’ll be joining in the deal fun, though not until slightly later on 7 November.
In the UK, retailers such as Amazon and Currys often have early Black Friday deals with top discounts arriving a week or two before Black Friday, though nothing’s live just yet. Phone manufacturer OnePlus is offering an early Black Friday deal though, with discounts across most of its range using code BF2022A.
Be sure to sign up for Tech Advisor’s deals newsletter so you can keep up with the best Black Friday deals all across the web!
Best early Black Friday deals right now
Below are the best tech deals we can see right now ahead of Black Friday 2022. We’re also including any early Black Friday offers as they’re announced.
Top 10 Deals
Apple 11in iPad Pro (2021)
1
From: Amazon
Was: £749
Now:
£662
(£87 off)
Get £87 off the 128GB model of the latest 11in iPad Pro on Amazon – no Prime membership required. Savings are also available on many other models.
Samsung Galaxy S22 (128GB)
2
From: Amazon
Was: £769
Now:
£602
(£167 off)
Poco F4 GT 5G (256GB)
3
From: Amazon
Was: £699
Now:
£465
(£234 off)
Save around a third of the price on this excellent mid-range phone from Poco, packed with enough power for gaming on the go.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (13.5in)
4
From: Microsoft
Was: £999
Now:
£839
(£160 off)
The Surface Laptop 5 is here, but that doesn’t mean you should disregard this older model. At just £839, it’s great value for money.
Trend Micro Internet Security – 1 Year, 3 Devices
5
From: Trend Micro
Was: $79.95 / £49.95
Now:
$29.95 / £19.95
(62% / 60% off)
Trend Micro’s online protection for up to three devices is 60% off the first year for those in the UK and there’s a slightly higher 62% discount if you’re in the US (get the deal here).
In AV-Test’s latest report, Trend Micro earns maximum points for protection, usability and performance, making this not just an affordable deal, but top-notch protection as well.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 (8+128GB) – Refurbished
6
From: GiffGaff
Was: £949
Now:
£499
(£450 off)
GiffGaff has £450 off a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 phone. The handset is unlocked and comes with a 12 month warranty.See the best Z Flip 3 deals around in our dedicated round up.
Voxi SIM-Only with 25GB data
7
From: Voxi
Now:
£12 per month
(with uncapped social media & video)
Grab 25GB of data for the price of 20GB along with Endless Social Media and Video (TikTok, YouTube, Prime Video and Netflix).
Norton 360 Deluxe (1 year)
8
From: Norton
Was: £84.99
Now:
£29.99
(£55 off)
Device Security for up to 5 PCs, Mac, smartphones or tablets.1st Year intro offer, see subscription details.
Fitbit Versa 3
9
From: Amazon
Was: £199.99
Now:
£139.78
(30% off)
Save 30% on the Fitbit Versa 3 from Amazon. Check colours for different prices.
Netgear Orbi Mesh WiFi System
10
From: Amazon
Was: £329
Now:
£189
(£140 off)
Pump up your home Wi-Fi with a massive £140 off this quality 3-pack Mesh WiFi system
Should you wait for Black Friday? Will deals really be better?
With deals already beginning to roll in, you don’t really need to wait until 25 November to get your hands on an excellent offer.
Keep an eye on Amazon. Given its prominence, you can pretty accurately glean when sales from other retailers will start by following Amazon’s sales schedule. While Amazon doesn’t often provide notice before a big sale (with the exception of Prime Day) you can be certain if Amazon has deals on a certain product so too will other retailers. Thankfully, for shoppers, this means you should be able to get low prices everywhere!
It’s also worth noting that it’s unlikely prices will reduce further on 25 November if retailers begin Black Friday deals early. Past years have shown retailers generally spread out excellent deals in the week leading up to Black Friday – effectively turning the day into a week-long event.
In fact, if you wait too long, stock might even sell out by the 25th, or you may struggle with getting your goods delivered timely.
Our advice is clear: if you see a drastic discount on that Apple Watch or Nintendo Switch console you’ve been eyeing, you should pick it up! And if prices do go lower on the day…
…Take advantage of price-matching
Remember to hold retailers accountable to their prices. Many retailers, such as Currys offer price-matching against other retailers, whether online or in-store.
In past years, Currys has promised its early Black Friday deals won’t have lower prices on Black Friday itself. If you’ve bought an item from Currys and found a cheaper price elsewhere within 7 days, Currys should hopefully refund you the difference. Keep track of Black Friday deals at Currys here.
While Amazon doesn’t have a price-matching policy, it does have a strong returns policy. You can return most new and unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. You also have the statutory right to cancel an order within 14 days of delivery.
If you find your purchase has a lower price just days later, you can always cancel your first order and buy the same item at the lower price and send the original purchase back (if you’ve received it already). Again, be sure it’s unopened, unused and undamaged.
We’re certain retailers will continue spreading deals all through the month of November instead of concentrating all their best deals on Black Friday itself. The added benefit of distributing deals over the month is that it also prevents frenzied crowds from gathering in stores and shopping centres.
Top predictions for Black Friday 2022
Below are some of our biggest predictions for Black Friday 2022. You can see our full list of predictions in our What to Expect this Black Friday article.
1. More in-store shopping
As we touched on above, it was a lonely time for physical retail through the lockdown. That’s sure to change this year due to the vaccine uptake. Now that people are vaccinated and shops and restrictions have been lifted in many countries, retailers will be sure to welcome shoppers back with open arms (and very competitive discounts, of course).
2. The rise of click and collect
The past few years have taught us the convenience of click and collect, where you buy online and pick up in-store, or even pay in-store. The industry term for this is BOPIS (Buy Online Pay In Store) – something you can bore dinner guests with over Thanksgiving – and this payment method is only expected to grow, with research from Business Insider predicting continued growth until 2024.
Click and collect saves you on queuing to pay in-store, while also saving you on waiting for the delivery. The latter is especially poignant in the UK with plenty of Royal Mail strikes planned over November and December. As a result, we expect more retailers to offer C&C as a payment method this year.
3. More ways to pay: Buy Now Pay Later
Another effect of the pandemic and online shopping has been a surge in Buy Now Pay Later services – and retailers want to cash in.
Services such as Klarna, ClearPay and PayPal Credit allow you to split payments into 3-4 chunks or delay payments without interest (or late fees in some cases). It has its risks if you’re unable to pay back, but it is a convenient way to afford the things you want if you don’t want to pay in one go. Take a look at our full guide to Klarna for more.
4. Free next-day delivery
In a bid to compete with Amazon Prime and its free next-day delivery service, we expect plenty of retailers to offer competing free next-day delivery offers on deals across the Black Friday shopping season. It is one of the big drivers behind the Amazon Prime subscription service, after all.
5. Live shopping deals (especially on Social Media)
Live shopping e-commerce isn’t new. It’s a huge multi-billion dollar business in China, but it’s only just picking up in the global West.
Last year, Currys introduced live shopping to its site, appropriately called LiveShop. To compete with Prime Day it launched exclusive discounts on Google Nest and Pixel devices which were available only to those who watched the stream.
Amazon US had exclusive discounts through influencer-hosted live shopping events via Amazon Live, a similar concept to Currys.
Some brands have also started offering additional discounts through their social feeds – mobile manufacturer OnePlus is a huge fan of this tactic – so we’d recommend following all your favourite brands (if only temporarily).
6. More refurbished and trade-in offers
The refurbished market has gained a lot of traction over the past few years – and it’s clear to see why. Refurbished devices are repaired to look and feel like new, but they’re cheaper and crucially, they save the planet from electronic waste.
The good news is that with a seemingly never-ending wave of phone, laptop and tablet announcements, you’re almost guaranteed to find refurbished 2022 tech available at a lower price this Black Friday. We’re specifically tracking the best refurbished phone deals separately for those interested.
In a bid to increase stock to refurbish, there are plenty of retailers – including Currys and John Lewis in the UK – offering discounts with trade-in of various products. If you simply want to sell your tech without getting a discount, refurbished tech retailer MusicMagpie (known as decluttr in the US) offer competitive prices.
7. Lottery deals
Lottery deals are a relatively new concept for Black Friday, first appearing last year. The idea is simple; you sign up for a retailer’s lottery system to gain access to exclusive discounts. It proved extremely popular, and it’s likely retailers will want to capitalise on the hype in the run-up to Black Friday this year.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the best Black Friday 2022 tech deals and also offering detailed coverage of the best Black Friday offers.
And if you’re an Apple fan, see the best Black Friday Apple deals on our sister site Macworld.
