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Black Friday is the cheapest time to buy expert-approved products, according to our research
Molly GreevesConsumer writerTuesday 25 November 2025 16:42 GMT
open image in galleryI’ve crunched the numbers to find out if November is the best time of year to get a deal (iStock)Black Friday sales have been popping up for weeks now, and although the main event is just days away, many retailers have already started their sales early. But as you notice flashy-looking discounts popping up on your social media feed and email inbox, you may be questioning whether now’s really the best time to buy big ticket items and Christmas gifts.
You wouldn’t be the only one feeling sceptical. According to a YouGov poll, more than a third of UK consumers are less interested in Black Friday than they were two or three years ago, and the most common reason they gave was that the discounts were misleading.
Having tracked the prices of bestselling products for months as part of my role as a consumer write, I can confirm that, although some deals aren’t actually as good as they seem, many products are cheaper for Black Friday than they are at other times of the year. In fact, there tends to be better deals on Black Friday than the Boxing Day sales, and I’ve gathered the data to back this up.
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To do this, I chose 50 products that our experts love and recommend, including the Dyson supersonic, Kindle paperwhite, Ninja foodi max air fryer and many more. Using price tracking websites, I looked at the cheapest price available from a trusted retailer on Black Friday 2024 and compared it with prices on 20 December 2024, which is roughly when the Boxing Day sales start.
As I’ve explained below, Black Friday is, in fact, the best time to buy most of these products. But not all deals are created equal, which is why it’s important to shop around. Here’s what I found out about buying tech, beauty and household appliances during the Black Friday sales, as well as my tips for conducting your own research to make the best possible savings this year.
Follow live: Latest offers and news in our Black Friday 2025 liveblog
Is Black Friday the best time to get a deal?
According to my research, more than half (52 per cent) of IndyBest-approved products were cheaper on Black Friday 2024 than they were during the Boxing Day sales. Seven items (14 per cent) were cheaper pre-Christmas, and 17 items (34 per cent) were the same price on both dates.
I looked at items from three categories: tech and gaming, beauty and household. Here’s the breakdown of what I found.
Most tech and gaming products were cheaper on Black Friday
More than half (52 per cent) of IndyBest-approved gadgets – laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, smart watches and more – were cheaper to buy on Black Friday than in the Boxing Day sales.
One of the largest price differences I saw was on this Ring doorbell, which was £54 at B&Q on Black Friday and £67.99 during the Boxing Day sales. Currently, the lowest price is at B&Q again, though there’s no guarantee the price won’t drop before Black Friday (£35, Diy.com).
open image in galleryThe best time to buy a Ring doorbell is during Black Friday (Alistair Charlton/The Independent)Other examples of gadgets that were cheaper on Black Friday include the Nintendo Switch OLED, PS5 slim standard, and Sony WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds.
There were a few prices that didn’t budge between Black Friday and the Boxing Day sales last year, most notably two Apple products that were fairly new at the time and both the Xbox Series X and Series S. But overall, the data indicates that Black Friday is the best time to buy tech ahead of the festive period, and senior tech critic Alex Lee agrees.
“As someone who tests new tech all year round, you really don’t want to leave buying gadgets for the big day until the week before Christmas,” he said. “After tracking prices over the years, I’ve seen how prices plummet during Black Friday, then shoot up the closer you get to the festivities.
Alex Lee, senior tech criticYou don’t want to leave buying gadgets until the week before Christmas.
“Once Boxing Day rolls around, it’s not tech that’s being discounted – it’s clothes. Unlike fashion, tech doesn’t go out of style. There’s no seasonality. In the Boxing Day sales, retailers usually try to shift old stock, but it’s rare to see that when it comes to tech.”
Household items were either cheaper on Black Friday or stayed the same price
For household items, such as vacuum cleaners, mattresses and dehumidifiers, only 45 per cent of items were cheaper on Black Friday. However, only one item – the Daewoo 700ml dehumidifier – was cheaper during the Boxing Day sales. The rest were the same price on both dates.
However it’s still worth seeing what household products the Black Friday sales have to offer. Hotel Chocolat’s velvetiser was down to £74.99 on Black Friday last year, and was back up to £94.80 by 20 December.
open image in galleryThe all-new velvetiser makes one of the best hot chocolates that our tester tried (iStock/Mollie Davies/The Independent)My advice would be to make sure these are true deals by checking how much each item usually costs before you buy it. For instructions on how to do this, keep reading.
Black Friday was also the best time to buy beauty products
Like tech, more than half (54 per cent) of the beauty products I looked at were cheaper to buy on Black Friday last year, so if you’re looking for some gorgeous stocking fillers, I would check what’s on offer this week.
Last year, for example, the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood flawless filter primer and highlighter hybrid was 33 per cent cheaper on Black Friday than in the Boxing Day sales.
Lucy Smith, beauty writer“In my experience, beauty gift sets are where the best offers sit.”
When it comes to shopping beauty, our expert Lucy Smith has a few top tips. “There are often great beauty savings to be had if you’re a savvy shopper,” she said. “The key is to look at the price per ml of product, assessing whether a jumbo or travel-size beauty product is more cost effective.
“In my experience, beauty gift sets are where the best offers sit. Once you factor in an additional Black Friday or Boxing Day saving, you’ve often racked up a discount of 40-60 per cent.
“The best brands for these deals? Look to Clinique, Estée Lauder and Olaplex.”
For genuine beauty savings, we’re rounding up the best Black Friday beauty deals from now through to Cyber Monday (1 December).
Use price tracking websites to check you're getting a good deal
As The Independent's consumer writer, I’m always tracking the price of popular products. Sometimes I do find out about a sale before it’s launched, but for this story, I used data that everyone with an internet connection has access to via price tracking websites.
If you want to ensure you're getting the best possible deal, you can do exactly what I did. Pop the name of a product into PriceRunner or PriceSpy, or an Amazon link into camelcamelcamel, and you'll be able to see how the price has changed over time and which retailer has the best price out there right now.
Let’s take the Kindle paperwhite, which has been reduced to £124.99 on Amazon. The retailer says the RRP (recommended retail price) is £159.99, and when I put the link into camelcamelcamel, I can see that was the price from late August up until Amazon’s sale dropped last week.
open image in galleryAmazon isn’t always the cheapest place to buy a Kindle (The Independent)Now to see if I could be getting a better deal. When I put Kindle paperwhite into PriceRunner, I found that Amazon wasn’t the only retailer that’s dropped the price of the e-reader, and the price is actually marginally cheaper at Very. So I might go with Very if I want to save a couple of pounds or, as the prices are similar, I would look at which one offers a better warranty, cheaper delivery or good customer service in case something goes wrong.
These sites can sometimes get things wrong, and they don't list every product out there, so if you run into a dead-end you can always do a quick online search to shop around for yourself.
Here are the Black Friday Amazon deals that are actually worth it
