Each year we see Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer up the biggest savings available across the whole year, giving shoppers a chance to buy discounted kit ahead of Christmas.
Every year, Black Friday itself falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US and Cyber Monday lands on the following Monday, but retailers are sticking less and less to these strict dates, with sales and discounts flowing for days and weeks ahead of the date itself, and sometimes lasting a few days afterwards as well.
This year, with the continuing impacts of Covid in Australia forcing many shoppers to stay at home, we fully expect the online component of the Black Friday shopping period to continue to grow.
This means that this shopping period is a great time to pick up that pair of Sony noise-cancelling headphones you've been hanging out for, or upgrade to the latest LG OLED TV or KEF sound system. No matter you hi-fi or AV needs, Black Friday will have something for everyone.
When is Black Friday 2021?
The Black Friday 2021 date is Friday 26th November.
Cyber Monday 2021 will be Monday 29th November.
Black Friday always takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which means this year it will fall on Friday 26th November. While this 24-hour window will no doubt host a wide array of sales across retailers, we fully expect there to be plenty of offers available in the week leading up to Friday as well.
In the same fashion, while Cyber Monday itself will likely see a fresh wave of deals land, we don't expect it to be the last deals we'll see for the period, with discounts often lasting a few days after Monday has passed.
What is Black Friday?
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday began in the US but in recent years has very much become a worldwide shopping phenomena. It's regarded (and backed up by stats) as the busiest shopping day of the year – both online and in-store – and officially kicks off the holiday season.
Why is it called Black Friday? The date was traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season, when retailers hoped to move out of the "red" (loss) and in to the "black" (profit), hence Black Friday.
What about Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday 2021 will be Monday 29th November.
The term 'Cyber Monday', meanwhile, was coined by Scott Silverman and the National Retail Federation's Ellen Davis in a bid to encourage people to take their shopping online during the Black Friday event. That was back in 2005, when people needed such encouragement! It's always the Monday after Black Friday.
Where to get the best Black Friday deals?
4K TVs, smart and Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones will almost certainly be on offer at pretty much every electronics retailer, and those looking to buy into, or build upon, an Amazon Alexa ecosystem will surely be able to save money on the Echo speaker range.
The likes of JB Hi-Fi and eBay will always go big on games console bundles ahead of the holiday season, and as OLED continues to be such a buzzword, some cheap OLED TV deals are likely on the cards too.
Even though Amazon Australia has its fun with Amazon Prime day each year, we don't see the online retail giant missing out on the Black Friday sales in a hurry – wanting to compete with all the other retailers, we expect there to be some choice deals here too.
How long will Black Friday last?
Well, Black Friday is 24 hours. And Cyber Monday is 24 hours. But like Amazon Prime Day and the January sales, these events always have preliminary and aftermath offers.
For one, deals will run during the weekend sandwiched in the middle of the two days. And in the days and weeks building up to them, there will be plenty of 'pre-Black Friday' savings serenading the sites.
What Black Friday deals can you expect?
LG OLED TVs, JBL Bluetooth speakers, Sony and Bose wireless headphones, Amazon Echo devices, Apple AirPods... You get the drill. Some of the most popular products of the year are almost guaranteed be on offer at pretty much every electronics retailer during the Black Friday sales.
Previous big-sellers over Black Friday also include the Sonos One and Beam, Sony WH-1000XM3, Amazon Echo products, Bose wireless earbuds and noise-cancelling headphones, UE speakers, Denon AV receivers, OLED TVs and plenty more.
We fully expect the latest flagship noise-cancelling audio kit from Sony – the WH-1000XM4 over-ear and WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds – to be discounted this Black Friday as well, and we expect they'll be the hottest items going.
