Black Friday is just a few days away, but if you want to know what the gigantic sale is all about before you dive into the sea of deals then you’ve come to the right place.

No longer just an American concept – Black Friday is now a worldwide phenomenon. It has become the biggest shopping day of the year and with that status, there’s a whole lot that shoppers need to know about Black Friday in order to make the most of it. It’s not like any other sale and for the most part, it has its own rules.

If you’ve yet to partake in Black Friday then you’d be forgiven for thinking that it all sounds a bit daunting. Here at Trusted Reviews however, our mission has always been to give you the best buying advice possible, and that also applies to helping you understand everything that goes into the Black Friday sale, which is exactly why we’ve put together this handy guide.

Early Black Friday Deals

Even though Black Friday itself has yet to officially begin, that hasn’t stopped retailers from getting in on the action early and it’s exactly why our collection of the best Black Friday deals is already packed full of great tech bargains. There’s no longer any need to wait for the Friday, with some retailers (such as Currys) claiming that their current offers won’t be made any cheaper on the day.

When is Black Friday?

As is the case every year, Black Friday takes place on the day after Thanksgiving. For readers outside the US, that means Black Friday 2021 falls on November 26. Of course, while November 26 is the official date for Black Friday itself, the Black Friday sale can take place well before that date.

Will there be stock shortages?

Due to the ongoing chip shortage which is affecting the production of almost all technology worldwide, including phones, gaming consoles, cars and even washing machines, it’s fair to anticipate this having a knock-on effect during the Black Friday sale.

While the Trusted Reviews team will be trying their best to bring you the best deals as quickly as possible, there’s a good chance that stock will disappear quicker than usual, as we expect that it’ll be even harder to get your hands on already scarce products like the PS5 or the Nintendo Switch OLED.

What is Black Friday?

As we know it today, Black Friday is the biggest sales event of the year and has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, but Black Friday started out as a simple term to describe the beginning of the holiday shopping season once the Thanksgivings festivities were out of the way. The origin of the term is still speculated to this day, but one of its earliest uses dates back to the 1960s, referring to the obscene amounts of traffic that occurred once the Christmas shopping frenzy began.

Which retailers are taking part?

In 2021, it’s easier to ask which retailers don’t take part in Black Friday as you could probably count them on one hand. That number gets even smaller when talking specifically about tech retailers, with all the major stores taking part as they try to best the competition with better deals on phones, laptops, TVs and more. For a look at which retailers are involved, just take a look at the list below.

Editor’s Note: We’ve included links to stores that don’t sit in our traditional coverage areas in a bid to help general shoppers who have landed on this page.

What is Cyber Monday?

Compared to Black Friday, Cyber Monday is more of a recent phenomenon but it’s become a true staple of the November/December shopping experience. As you can probably guess from its name, Cyber Monday was designed as an online-only sale to capitalise on the appetities for online shopping the week after Black Friday. With its online-only slant, Cyber Monday also focuses primarily on tech, which is handy for our readers as it tends to offer some of the year’s best tech deals. Just as with Black Friday, the Trusted Reviews team will be covering all the best Cyber Monday deals as they appear.

Black Friday guides

If there’s something we’ve missed or a Black Friday topic that you’d like to know more about then fear not – our tech experts have written up several additional guides to help you buy the right products this Black Friday:

Why stick with Trusted Reviews this Black Friday?

For longer than any of us probably care to remember, Trusted Reviews has been at the forefront of the Black Friday sale, bringing you the best offers as they appear, and this year will be no different. Throughout the Black Friday sale and beyond, we will be scouring the internet for the absolute best tech deals so that you can save a serious amount of cash on your next purchase. Think of it as being able to enjoy the Black Friday sale without all the stress of it all (we’ve got that part sorted).

Black Friday questions

If you have any questions about the Black Friday sale or even topics that we may have missed, please send us an email at editor@trustedreviews.com and we’ll post a response right here on this very page.