Black Friday – the largest shopping day of the year – is only a few days away. Do you have your eyes set on a specific item? Do you want to secure a bargain? Then make sure to be well prepared.
Three important points of advice :
- Plan ahead and do your research! Take your time to read reviews and compare prices to make sure you make the right choice. In the heat of the moment, the staff will not have time to answer your questions.
- No doubt Black Friday will be a hectic and crowded experience. Everybody just wants to lay their hands on the deal of the century, so get in as quickly as you can!
- Once you’ve entered the stores, avoid impulsive buying. Do you really want or need that item or are you just blinded by the price? If deals look to too good to be true, they usually are. Don’t forget to take shipping fees or extra costs into account.
The place to be on the 25th
Looking for new clothes or technology? In order to know exactly where to go to for which item, just check out our list below.
- Need a new flat screen, video game, smartphone or other electrical device? Amazon was the pioneer and deserves to be top of the list. In 2010, this online retailer was the first to bring Black Friday to the UK. Shops including Apple, Currys, Maplin or Game all run a series of promotions as well.
- Looking for clothing, cosmetics or beauty products? Aren’t we always?! Snap up a bargain at Boots, Mark & Spencer, New Look, The Body Shop, Debenhams, River Island, Topshop or ASOS.
- You prefer buying most of your Christmas gifts at 1 store? Tesco, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, House of Fraser and Very will definitely be worth the visit.
The history of Black Friday
As you probably already presumed, the whole concept of Black Friday is American. In the Mid-Sixties, the term Black Friday was first introduced in the US and traditionally represents the day after Thanksgiving.
The term was used by the Philadelphian police to describe the crowd and multiple traffic jams outside the department stores. Initially retailers were reluctant to adopt the expression … until they witnessed their turnover to go from red to black.
Nowadays – as a way to kick off Christmas shopping – retailers compete on giving huge discounts on the hottest items of the year. They will increase on staff, use tablets to accept orders and payments on the shop floor, and some will even open pre-sales on their websites.
Cyber Monday
Perhaps you’re already counting down till Black Friday, but for those who prefer escaping the crowd, don’t panic, there’s always Cyber Monday!
In 2008, Cyber Monday was launched to convince people to shop online, which appeared to have become a HUGE success. Since the rise of internet shopping, there is only a thin line between these two rival shopping days.
The day after…
If you haven’t been able to resist the crazy deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, do you have enough space to store your purchases?
Americans make all kinds of bargains for future occasions during the Black Friday sales. Many of them are using their self-storage units as a space away from home to hide all their discount deals from potential recipients.
So why not make a list of presents you might need for friends and family (and yourself!) in the future and – from Black Friday till Cyber Monday – just shop till you drop!
You can always rent a storage unit at Shurgard to keep your purchases safe and dry. Whenever you need a present for a birthday or other occasion, you can easily go “shopping” in your own storage unit! Absolutely brilliant!
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