It’s almost that time again. Black Friday. The most retail-heavy day of the year is back, bringing with it all the contrasting emotions that ‘making a great saving’ bring. Exhausting, isn’t it? The fear that you could be missing out on some sort of mega deal lingers throughout the day. Shoppers are driven to extreme states of mania, encouraged by the six foot high percentage discounts plastered across every shop window. There’s no getting round it: Black Friday is scary.

It’s important not to panic as Black Friday Week (that’s right – it’s not just Friday, despite the uber specific name) approaches. A little bit of planning goes a long way, and as other shoppers fight each other to get their hands on a toaster marked down by 80% that they didn’t really want, you can nail it with a degree of smug proficiency.

Here are the Servicing Stop tips on how to maximise Black Friday:

1. Make a list. A bargain is only a bargain if you actually need it. Be efficient; know what you want. This will prevent you waking up on Saturday morning with a headache and a house filled with 13 discounted pancake makers, a jetski and a brew-your-own cherry liqueur kit. Target what you want and the retailers likely to sell it.
2. Don’t pay full price for accessories and add-ons. A common mistake many Black Friday shoppers make is paying full price for electronic add-ons: cables, batteries, chargers – basically stuff that will get the ‘big’ items working. Remember – you don’t have to buy everything at the same time. Have a strategy, target what you’ll need and purchase accordingly. You’ve also got the electronics heavy Cyber Monday coming too!
3. Opening store credit cards. Yes, it might be tempting to get an extra 15% off by opening a Store Credit card but think about the longer term implications. Do you really want an extra credit card millstone hanging round your neck?
4. Use a price comparison app. A recent survey (retale.com) found that up to 75% of Black Friday customers used some sort of price comparison website to locate the best of the Black Friday deals.
5. Don’t worry! You’re not necessarily missing out. The Black Friday period is consumer heaven for retailers. They’ll have been planning for it all year and will subsequently have bundles of stock ordered in anticipation. Expect to see good deals in the runup to Christmas; we haven’t even touched on the January sales…
6. Don’t forget Cyber Monday. If it’s electronics you’re after it’s probably better waiting for Cyber Monday.

Best of luck over the coming Black Friday period. Stay safe out there. It’s not worth getting into a fight with someone over a toaster.

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