'Five huge retailers just launched Black Friday early but that's only the start'

As a shopping writer, this time of year is, of course, my bread and butter. I already had my predictions about how 2024 season - because it’s not really been a single day for years - would shape based on four previous years’ experience. Some brands and analysts have already started discussing 'Black November' as a concept to cover the extended period and, along with the rest of the Shopping team, I was on standby for plenty of brands to launch their biggest sales of the year from Monday (November 4).

What wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card was Black November starting in October. Yesterday five major brands launched their Black Friday deals with minimal fanfare, firing the starting gun for this year’s shopping bonanza - and frankly leaving competitors and observers alike on the back foot.

, , , and , all pushed the button on their Black Friday deals over the course of the day, with several, perhaps ironically, coinciding with Chancellor unveiling her budget. While some of the deals we’ve spotted so far might charitably be described as repackaging existing discounts, there are some legitimately chunky early deals for shoppers looking for tech in particular with offering a range of freebies and some of the best prices we’ve seen on their iconic Frame TVs and knocking £150 off many of their best-loved products.

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There are several key reasons why this has happened and why I’m expecting even more brands to go early now the first retailers have done so.

Brands have FOMO

While British shoppers are, according to industry research, going to be spending more than ever this Black Friday, retailers who don’t launch soon risk seeing their customers spend their cash with competitor brands as, realistically, there’s only a finite amount of money to go round.

This fear of missing out is clearly something that’s leaving retailers twitchy and there’s definitely no putting the genie back in the bottle now. Overnight I’ve had an email from a household name retailer giving us notice they’re pulling their previously scheduled sale dates forward to go within the next 12 hours to make sure they don’t miss out and I’m pretty sure this won’t be the only email I get like that over the next few days.

Bonus payday

There’s another handy benefit for shoppers and brands alike with deals going live this early. As most UK workers who are paid monthly are paid on either the 25 or last day of the month, suddenly we’re all looking at potentially two paydays to help cover the costs of our Black Friday shopping. From brands’ perspectives that means they might see a bump in the amount of things we buy as it’s possible to spread the cost.

How the calendar falls

With Black Friday inextricably linked with our American cousins’ Thanksgiving holiday, the exact date of Black Friday varies year by year. This year, landing on November 29 is pretty much as late as it can possibly be. With shopping a Black Friday priority for many of us this would have left just 26 days between the two events - and vitally several days fewer than that if you’re shopping online and wanting something delivered. In the of retail, this isn’t long, especially when you factor in one of the other key factors like logistics.

Logistic issues

It’s not just the timescales that impact deliveries. To paraphrase the Notorious BIG, mo’ sales mo’ problems. Retailers want to have the most successful sale season they’ve ever had, but that means picking, and shipping more products than ever and that’s not always as straightforward as it seems.

Last year had such a strong Black Friday that they had to apologise to customers when there were delays getting the goods out in time for Christmas. This year they’ve already launched early Black Friday deals with some of the live now and their launching on November 6 - leaving plenty of time for everything to arrive ahead of the festive season.

Meanwhile, Amazon has announced they are as seasonal temps working alongside their 75,000-strong permanent workforce, with the brand clearly keen to ensure there are no bumps in their despatch and delivery processes during this key period.

With the Royal Mail saying the final day for tracked posting before Christmas is December 21, that's only 22 days to get products out, and that is six days fewer than in 2023. Brands want us to buy early to spread the delivery load.

All of which is to say that shoppers are going to potentially have the best Black Friday season for deals ever. Of course, it’s not all positive news. With so many brands launching early there are several other issues consumers will have to cope with:

Shopper fatigue

No, not the tiredness of wandering the shops - although if you do prefer to get your retail therapy by walking the aisles rather than scrolling your favourite shops online on your phone while watching TV definitely choose some comfy shoes. Black Friday season felt long enough last year, but with it effectively starting a week earlier for 2024 shoppers risk tuning out the noise of the messaging before we get to the big day.

Filtering out the noise to make sure they’re getting the best deals is going to be a key factor for shoppers this Black November.

Consumer trust

This is something that as shopping writers is one of our key focuses and a responsibility we take very seriously. Just because a retailer says something is a deal doesn’t mean that it really is. Shoppers and analysts alike are going to need to be more vigilant than ever for 2024 to make sure that the deals they plump for really are the best.

This involves doing research on previous lowest prices for any products you’ve got your eye on, using CamelCamelCamel as a price checker for any and just keeping up with Mirror Shopping content through the month - our topic experts can tell you whether this is the so far (spoiler: it is) or to get even more off the price of that Boots Star Gift you’ve got your eye on.

Knowing when to buy

When Black Friday has started for some brands as early as October 30, how do you know whether you’re going to get the best deal by buying now or holding your nerve to see if further reductions come in? The short answer is you don’t. We can predict what we expect based on previous years - some brands do love a to boost their numbers if they feel things are flagging after all. But overall the key way to get the best bargains is to know what’s on your wishlist and keep an eye on prices from now, so you know what the starting prices really were.

Some brands have been known to refund the difference if you email them having spotted a price drop a few days later - has won praise on social media from fans for this very reason. But other retailers are going so far as offering a Black Friday price guarantee.

Sexual wellness brand is a trailblazer in many ways but for this Black Friday season they're at the forefront of being clear with their customers on what to expect. Ahead of unveiling what they're saying will be 'their ,' the brand confirmed that customers won't ever be out of pocket because of fluctuating pricing, with a spokesperson telling us: "During the Black Friday sales period, we've curated a range of our best products at great prices. But if the price drops between now and the end of the Black Friday sales, we will refund the difference." They’re also offering a 100-day pleasure money back guarantee on purchases.

Whatever you're looking to buy this Black Friday, there's no doubt you're going to have more opportunities to do so than ever before. So buckle up for the ride.