Black Friday is the annual shopping event taking place this weekend.
The day, which originated in the US, comes the day after Thanksgiving and sees shops across the globe slash prices on a variety of products.
Customers usually take advantage of the big ticket sales to buy themselves a new television, games console or mobile phone.
But it’s not a sale day exclusive to electronics, and the bargains now sweep across the retail board to include clothes, toys, cosmetics, food and drink.
When does Black Friday end?
Black Friday sales will typically last over the weekend and finish with Cyber Monday, which take place once every year on the Monday following.
Amazon
Amazon deals event to 28 November.
Currys
Friday 25 November until midnight online or until closing time at 6pm or 8pm depending on the branch.
Argos
All products on offer at Argos with a “Black Friday” will be discounted until Tuesday 29 November unless otherwise stated.
Apple
Until 28 November.
John Lewis Black Friday dates
John Lewis Black Friday weekend until Monday 28 November.
Boots Black Friday dates
Boots Black Friday deals expected to continue until Monday 28 November.
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How did Black Friday start?
The earliest record of the term “Black Friday” dates back to the Factory Management and Maintenance journal in November 1951, when it referred to the practice of workers calling in sick after Thanksgiving.
Around the same time, Philadelphia Police Department coined the phrase to describe the chaos ensued by the congestion of pedestrian and vehicle traffic on that day.
As the years went on, merchants adopted the term for the day, as it was widely believed to be the point in the year when retailers start to turn a profit and go from “in the red” to “in the black”.
When did Black Friday start in the UK?
Amazon introduced Black Friday to UK in 2010 for online shopping, but it first made an appearance in high streets when Walmart-owned Asda announced it would be running a campaign. More and more retailers – including Tesco, Amazon, John Lewis and Argos – began to follow suit.
In 2014, police were forced to get involved after fights broke out and people were trampled and assaulted in stores across the country as shoppers violently scrambled for a bargain.
As a result, Asda no longer participates in the day with many others downplaying their event in order to avoid such scenes.
