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| Black Friday: What is it and is it worth the hype? | |
| (1 day later) | |
| It's that time of the year: Black Friday has arrived on our shores and retailers are hoping to cash in on the American shopping import. But what exactly is it? | |
| This is what you need to know: | |
| What is Black Friday? | What is Black Friday? |
| America's biggest shopping day takes place the day after Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. | America's biggest shopping day takes place the day after Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. |
| This year, Black Friday takes place today, the 28 November, and retailers are gearing up for a shopping frenzy. Stores will be opening doors early and offering shoppers a series of promotions intended to kick-start the festive season. | |
| OK, so Americans love a bargain. But what's this got to do with us here in the UK? | OK, so Americans love a bargain. But what's this got to do with us here in the UK? |
| Blame Amazon. The online retailer brought the shopping phenomenon to the UK back in 2010. Walmart-owned Asda followed suit and the rest are playing catch-up. | Blame Amazon. The online retailer brought the shopping phenomenon to the UK back in 2010. Walmart-owned Asda followed suit and the rest are playing catch-up. |
| John Lewis, Argos, PC World, GAME, Superdrug, Maplin and Sainsbury's are all taking part in this (just to name a few). | John Lewis, Argos, PC World, GAME, Superdrug, Maplin and Sainsbury's are all taking part in this (just to name a few). |
| However, upmarket department stores Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Liberty are not putting out Black Friday offers, with some commentators arguing sales have a detrimental impact on high-end brands. | However, upmarket department stores Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Liberty are not putting out Black Friday offers, with some commentators arguing sales have a detrimental impact on high-end brands. |
| Black Friday: What you need to know | Black Friday: What you need to know |
| Got it. But will people queue for a cheap telly? | Got it. But will people queue for a cheap telly? |
| The New West End Company, which represents businesses on London’s busiest shopping streets — Oxford Street, Regent Street and New Bond Street — expects £220 million being spent on the three streets alone. So yes, people will shop. | The New West End Company, which represents businesses on London’s busiest shopping streets — Oxford Street, Regent Street and New Bond Street — expects £220 million being spent on the three streets alone. So yes, people will shop. |
| Friday is also expected to become the busiest online shopping day of the year, with Visa predicting £360,000 spent every minute online with 8.5 million transactions. | Friday is also expected to become the busiest online shopping day of the year, with Visa predicting £360,000 spent every minute online with 8.5 million transactions. |
| I see, but is it worth the hype? Yes and no. | I see, but is it worth the hype? Yes and no. |
| Black Friday is seen as one of the best days to shop for electronics and that includes televisions, tablets, smart-phones and computers. But it's worth bearing in mind that most retailers will put out promotions in the run-up to Christmas- so this isn't your only chance to get a discount. | Black Friday is seen as one of the best days to shop for electronics and that includes televisions, tablets, smart-phones and computers. But it's worth bearing in mind that most retailers will put out promotions in the run-up to Christmas- so this isn't your only chance to get a discount. |
| Critics of Black Friday also argue retailers are just trying to dump old stock while others claim the whole thing is a scam with stores inflating prices ahead of Black Friday, so you're not saving a great deal. |