Black Friday deals 2023: when is it and what to expect

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Today's best sales
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Fall is upon us, which means the 2023 Black Friday deals event is near with incredible deals on TVs, AirPods, vacuums, smart home devices, coffee makers, and toys from retailers like Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, and more. To help you prepare for the shopping holiday, I've created this guide with everything you need to know about this year's Black Friday sale, such as the date, when offers start, and what deals you can expect.

As a deals editor for TechRadar, I've been covering Black Friday for half a decade, and it's my job to sort through all the offers to bring you the best Black Friday deals. Once offers go live, I will hand-pick all the best bargains from the top brands and break down why it's a good deal or if you should hold off for a better price.

While the 2023 Black Friday date is slated for November 24, deals usually start as early as October. In fact, last month, Amazon announced that a 2nd Prime Day sale will take place on October 10 and 11, which has been a kick-off for the holiday shopping season in years past. The two-day Amazon Prime Day sale will be a Black Friday preview, with a sneak peek of what deals you can expect at the retailer's Black Friday sale.

While we wait for early Black Friday deals to drop, I've listed today's best sales from your favorite online retailers below, followed by everything you need to know about this year's Black Friday sale.

Today's best sales

Amazon: daily deals on tech, home items, clothing, and more
Best Buy: savings on 4K TVs, laptops, and headphones
Dell: save on best-selling Inspiron and XPS laptops
Home Depot: deals on tools, appliances, furniture, and more
Kohl's: save on clothing, shoes, and accessories for the whole family
Lowe's: appliance deals from Samsung, Whirlpool and LG
Nordstrom: 30% off Nike, Levi's, Skims, Adidas and more
Overstock: big savings on furniture, decor, and appliances + free shipping
Target: save on furniture, tech, and clothing for the whole family
Walmart: save on TVs, laptops, kitchen appliances, and more

Black Friday 2023: key information

person using a digital generated phone with black friday on the screen — (Image credit: McLittle Stock)

When is Black Friday 2023?

Black Friday 2023 falls on November 24. The actual date shifts, but the day of the week stays the same: it's always the Friday after Thanksgiving.

While Black Friday deals will officially kick off on November 24, based on years past, we can predict that retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart will launch early sales. At last year's sale, we saw Black Friday deals popping up as early as October, thanks to Amazon's 2nd Prime Day sale, which launched earlier that month. Amazon has announced a 2nd Prime Day sale will take place on October 10 and 11, so prepare for early Black Friday deals to kick off around that time.

What Black Friday deals do we expect to see in 2023?

We can predict what Black Friday deals we'll see at the 2023 sale by looking back at last year's best-sellers and recent holiday sales. Last year's bestselling categories, according to Amazon, included Home, Fashion, Toys, Beauty, and Amazon's own devices. This matched up with Amazon's top-selling items, like the Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick, and Apple AirPods. Other popular offers were the Nintendo Switch, LG's C2 OLED TV, Fullstar's viral vegetable chopper, and the Revlon one-step volumizer hair dryer.

We expect to see the same mix of items on sale during the 2023 Black Friday deals event, such as Amazon devices, like the Echo Pop smart speaker, the 2023 LG C3 OLED TV, as well as Apple's latest devices, including the Apple Watch 9, the MacBook Air M2 and the iPhone 15.

Black Friday 2023: our buying advice

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Where to find the best Black Friday deals?

Most online retailers offer Black Friday deals, but it's our job to sort through the thousands of offers to find the very best bargains from the bunch. You'll typically find the best Black Friday deals from big-name retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target, with Amazon leading the pack.

Amazon is a Black Friday favorite, not only because they offer record-low prices but also because they offer discounts on a wide variety of categories. So whether you're looking for tech items like laptops, TVs, or AirPods or searching for discounts on clothing, kitchen appliances, or toys - Amazon is likely to offer Black Friday deals on the product you're after.

Walmart is another Black Friday favorite, thanks to a handful of early sales that the retailer typically launches in the run-up to Black Friday proper. The retailer also offers special prices and early access to its Black Friday sales for Walmart Plus members, which is something to consider if you're interested in the subscription.

Other retailers that offer impressive Black Friday deals include Best Buy, Target, Dell, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Overstock. It can be overwhelming with so many retailers and promotions, but that's where our deal expertise comes in. We go through every retailer to pick out the very best Black Friday deals so you can make sure you're getting the lowest price available.

How to get the best Black Friday deals in 2023?

Homework really helps. Some retailers up prices from August through to October so they can offer supposedly amazing discounts on Black Friday, so don’t be fooled by such moves.

They’re particularly prevalent in expensive consumer electronics such as TVs or laptops with product numbers rather than names, with products that were dropped down to a great bargain price suddenly being pushed back to their MSRP again.

It’s also a very good idea to be flexible: for example, if you're interested in a Samsung 4K TV it’s best to think about the features you want rather than a specific model number: the BRV553ABD34-82C-9218-X may not be discounted on Black Friday 2023, but an almost identical set with the specification you want probably will be.

So do your research on what matters, and we’ll do our best to give you the right comparison needed.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking that something that looks like a five-star set is the same but cheaper - certain elements (often with regards to screen quality or image processing) won’t be as high quality to achieve that lower price point.

When to shop for the best Black Friday deals?

Early holiday shopping was a smart move at last year's Black Friday sale, as we saw the best deals launch in the weeks leading up to the day itself. Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart launched sales as early as October with impressive offers for best-selling tech, appliances, toys, and more.

We were extremely impressed with last year's early Black Friday deals, in fact, we were disappointed with offers on Black Friday proper. Most retailers offered their best deals in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, with record-low prices on AirPods, OLED TVs, air fryers, and laptops, to name a few. When Black Friday proper arrived, many of these items were either out of stock or, while still discounted, at a higher price.

Our advice? If you see an early Black Friday deal and it's down to record-low price, we recommend purchasing the item rather than waiting for Black Friday itself. In fact, retailers like Best Buy had a FAQs page that stated that its early Black Friday deals were available in limited quantities and you wouldn't find better prices during the Black Friday sales period. By taking advantage of early Black Friday deals, you're not only avoiding the madness of Black Friday, but you're securing an item that might sell out come November 24.

Black Friday vs. Amazon Prime Day

While this year's Amazon Prime Day sale wrapped up in July, the retailer just announced a second sale that will take place in October. The October Amazon Prime event will be a preview for the 2023 Black Friday deals event and will kick off the early holiday shopping season.

So what can we learn about Amazon's July Prime Day event, and how does it stack up to Black Friday? Amazon reports that the first day of Prime Day was the single largest sales day in the company's history, with over 375 million items purchased worldwide. The most popular categories were home, fashion, and beauty, and the top-selling deals included the Fire TV Stick, Apple AirPods, and the Bissell Little Green carpet cleaner.

We expect similar trends at this year's Black Friday sale, as consumers are hungry for deals. The most significant difference between Black Friday and Prime Day is the length of the sales and Amazon's dominance and membership requirements when it comes to Prime Day. Amazon's Prime Day sale is a 48-hour-only sale, with a Prime membership required to shop the sale. The two-day sale is also known for its deep discounts on Amazon's own devices, which is why it's no surprise that the Fire TV stick was a top-selling item.

While Black Friday is technically only one day, November 24, retailers launch Black Friday deals as early as October, which stretches the holiday sale into weeks of savings. Black Friday isn't exclusive to Amazon, and some of the best deals come from other retailers like Best Buy, Walmart.

Why is it called Black Friday?

Let’s take a history lesson to find how why they call it Black Friday: the first known mention of Black Friday related to this shopping experience was in November 1951, when the journal Factory Management and Maintenance used it to describe people calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving so they could have an extra day off work.

At the same time, US police were using the phrases “Black Friday” and “Black Saturday” to describe the horrendous traffic that occurred at the beginning of the pre-Christmas shopping season.

In 1961, the local government moved to change the shopping season to “Big Friday” and “Big Saturday,” but it never caught on. The notion that it was the time when retailers moved 'back into the black' was seen far later and clearly an attempt to bring positivity to the term.

Last year's best Black Friday deals

Taking a look back at last year's Black Friday deals can give us a good idea of what will be on sale at the 2023 event. You'll find the best Black Friday deals below, followed by the top offers in popular categories such as TVs, laptops, appliances, smart home devices and more.

National Tree Company Pre-Lit 6.5-feet Christmas Tree: was ~~$399.99~~ now $214.99 at Amazon
If you haven't picked out your Christmas Tree this year, Amazon's Black Friday sale is offering a massive $184.20 discount on this 6.5-foot artificial tree. The top-rated Dunhill Fir Full is pre-lit with 650 white lights that remain lit even when a bulb goes out. Plus, if you use ALEXATREE at checkout, you get a free Amazon smart plug and Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) with your purchase (just make sure all the items are in your cart).

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: $450 off, or up to $1,000 off with a trade-in at Samsung
Samsung's offering its best deal this year so far with its Black Friday promotion on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. You can get a flat $450 discount on an unlocked device right now - larger that any other retailer. Or, choose to trade in, and get up to $1,000 off both carrier or unlocked devices. While we've seen devices bundled in with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 before, this is easily the best straight discount we've seen since the device was launched.

The best Black Friday deals: TVs

The best Black Friday deals: Laptops and printers

The best Black Friday deals: home and kitchen

Keurig K-Cafe Essentials Coffee Maker: was ~~$99~~ now $79 at Walmart
Walmart has the Essentials version of the Keurig K-Cafe coffee maker at just $79 as part of its early Black Friday sale. It's not as flashy as its premium sibling – which sports a nickel-colored finish, metal handle, metal drip tray, and is on sale at Amazon right now – but as for features and settings, it's exactly the same machine. We may see the K-Cafe drop even lower on Black Friday itself, but this deal looks set to last for a few weeks yet.

The best Black Friday deals: smart home

The best Black Friday deals: vacuums

Hoover MaxLife PowerDrive Swivel XL: was ~~$119~~ now $59 at Walmart
This half-price deal on Hoover's high-performance HEPA-filtering upright delivers a lot of power for not much money. It makes cleaning any floor surface a breeze, and its powerful Dual Cyclone makes light work of even ground-in dirt. Swivel steering makes it maneuverable as well as powerful, and there's a telescopic wand, crevice tool, and upholstery/dusting tool too. If you're disappointed with your current affordable vacuum, this is a worthwhile upgrade.

The best Black Friday deals: mattresses

Saatva Classic mattress: from $935 at Saatva
Editor's pick - The Saatva Classic is a luxurious innerspring hybrid mattress that's available in three different sleep feels and two sizes, and it's our favorite mattress overall right now. Our exclusive discount knocks $400 off all orders over $1,000, which means a queen costs $1,395. Our deal runs through November and undercuts the general Saatva Black Friday mattress deal quite considerably on almost all models and sizes. If you're on a smaller budget, enjoy the body-hugging feel of memory foam, or share a bed with a particularly restless partner, check out the Nectar memory foam model below instead. Otherwise, we'd confidently recommend the Saatva to pretty much everyone.

Nectar Memory Foam mattress: was ~~$544~~ now from $359 at Nectar
Best memory foam mattress - The Nectar is a great all-rounder memory foam mattress that will suit plenty of tastes and sleep styles. The Black Friday sale knocks 33% off everything, which takes the price of a queen down to $669. In our Nectar mattress review, we found it delivered good pressure relief and motion isolation, making it a good choice for anyone with achy joints, or who shares a bed with a partner. It comes with a lifetime warranty and a year's risk-free trial, so you'll have plenty of time to make sure it suits you.

Helix Midnight mattress: was ~~$849~~ now from $699 at Helix
Best for side sleepers - The Helix Midnight is a softer memory foam mattress that's especially geared toward side sleepers. Right now, there's between $150 and $250 off all sizes for Black Friday, with two pillows thrown in for free. That drops the cost of a queen size down to $999. In our Helix Midnight mattress review, our testing panel was especially impressed with this mattress' temperature-regulating properties and found the softer sleep feel provided welcome cushioning around the shoulders and hips in a side sleeping position, as well as effectively absorbing motion from anyone you're sharing the bed with. You'll get free US shipping and a 100-night trial to make sure it suits you.

DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid mattress sale: from $599 + free $599 bundle at DreamCloud
Cheaper alterative to Saatva - The five-layer DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid is the cheapest model in the US, with a design that includes gel-infused memory foam for pressure relief and innerspring coils for bounce. It's topped off with breathable cashmere. The Black Friday deal Flash Sale knocks 25% off everything, and gets you a bundle of bedding worth $599 too. With this offer, a queen sized DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid is $899.

The best Black Friday deals: smartwatches

Apple Watch SE (1st Gen, GPS + Cellular): ~~$309~~ $229 at Walmart
The budget-friendly Apple Watch SE is reduced to just $229 Walmart. The design is very similar to the more premium Apple smartwatches, but it has a smaller screen and doesn't feature the same always-on function. This is also the older first-generation model, but it still comes with all key health and fitness tracking features, such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and GPS. At this price, it's a solid, affordable option for most users.