Martin Lewis’ Black Friday warning over when’s best to Christmas shop

Black Friday is here and many shoppers will be hoping to secure a bargain just in time for Christmas, but is it actually worth it? The last Friday of November has now turned into a day where stores across the nation promote discounted prices.

It all stemmed from the American tradition as the day falls after Thanksgiving and marks the busiest shopping day of the year in the US. Now, the UK has followed suit but there are a few things shoppers need to be aware of. Finance guru Martin Lewis has even set out his own advice as he warned shoppers on how to see if they’re really getting value for money.

Shops are keen to promote their discounts for Black Friday, with inboxes becoming full and store fronts filled with bargain signs. Yet, it can be hard to know if its best to shop now or wait for the pre-Christmas sales, Boxing Day sales or even the January sales.

Research from the Money Saving Expert has actually found Black Friday might be the best time to strike for a deal. They found that 37 out of 50 popular items were cheaper on Black Friday last year than compared to the lead up to Christmas.

“The idea that Black Friday discounts are a complete washout is not backed up by our data – compared, that is, to other prices in the run-up to Christmas,” Martin said on the Money Saving Expert site.

However, he warned: “Yet that doesn’t mean it won’t be cheaper at other points of the year. Ironically, the best time to do Christmas shopping (apart from for perishables) is likely to be in January.”

The money expert explained that if you are planning on doing Christmas shopping and the item has a decent Black Friday discount, “the chances are you should buy it”.

Martin has also been offering advice on his ITV Martin Lewis Money Show Live, where he talked viewers through deals. He said on the show: “If we look at when is the best time to buy between Black Friday and Christmas, well we’ve been doing research on this the past couple of years.

“About 70% of the time, Black Friday is cheaper than early Christmas, about 10% of the time early Christmas is cheaper than Black Friday.

“So if there is something and you need it before Christmas – by the way you can always delay it til after Christmas – do an IOU and put that in their Christmas [presents], they’ll love it – you’d be better to do it at Black Friday.”

Issuing a plea to viewers, he added: “There is something I do want to say, this is my memo I do every year, my annual Black Friday shopping memo especially with the festive forecaster coming up.

“If you were gonna buy it anyway and it’s half price you saved 50%, hurrah. If you weren’t going to buy it but do because it’s half price you’ve wasted 100%.”