Should you wait or buy early?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping events of the year, with both promising huge price drops across almost everything, including electronics and gadgets.

Black Friday traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving in the US (the last Thursday of November), while Cyber Monday takes place on the following Monday.

Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday were once just one-day events, the former undoubtedly seems to get bigger every year. Amazon’s Black Friday 2024 event is a mammoth 11-day affair, while other retailers such as Currys began their 2024 Black Friday event at the end of October.

To help you understand the difference between the two biggest shopping events of the year, we’ve put together this guide to take the confusion out of the sales.

Black Friday traditionally took place in-store

You’ve likely seen photos of huge crowds in shops fighting over bargain TVs or queues of people camping overnight outside shopping centres, and that’s because Black Friday was traditionally in-store only.

Cyber Monday originated in the mid-noughties and, as the name suggests, was developed as a way to get consumers to shop online.

Nowadays the lines between Black Monday and Cyber Monday are blurred, as most consumers will naturally favour online over in-store shopping, so both shopping events can be found online. Plus, in-store retailers are known for keeping their Black Friday sales running over to the following Monday anyway.

Black Friday is not just one day

As we touched upon earlier, Black Friday seems to start earlier and last longer every year, with some retailers opting for week or fortnight-long sales while others discount products for almost an entire month.

On the other hand, Cyber Monday is slightly different and, for the most part, has remained a firm one-day event. Some even liken Cyber Monday to Amazon’s Lightning deals where price drops are only live for a short period of time.

Waiting for Cyber Monday can be a risk

While it can be tempting to wait out the sale period for the best possible deal, we’d advise that if there’s a product you’d really want then you should take the plunge sooner rather than later, to avoid missing out.

Not only can prices change at the retailer’s discretion, resulting in a sudden return to its usual RRP, but stock may also run out too, especially if it’s a new, popular or rarely discounted product such as the PS5 Pro or the iPhone 16.

To keep up with the discounts, be sure to visit our live blog where we’ve rounded up the best Black Friday deals that are currently available.

Both promise big price drops

Black Friday and Cyber Monday both promise to offer massive price drops and to be the best sale events of the year. Across both sales events, you should see huge discounts across numerous items, from laptops and TVs to smartphones, headphones and air fryers.