Black Friday 2022 is hurtling towards us at breakneck speed. The annual sales bonanza is set to take place on Friday 25th November 2022, and with money tighter than ever in the face of the global Cost of Living crisis, we are expecting retailers to come through with even bigger discounts come Black Friday 2022.
That should mean serious Black Friday bargains on everything from the best TVs and best wireless headphones, to the best Bluetooth speakers, best hi-fi systems and best gaming TVs. We could even see the first 'proper' PS5 deals. Fingers crossed.
Busting for a bargain? You have come to the right place. Our Black Friday preview contains all the latest info, plus shopping tips and predicted deals. So without further ado, here's everything we know so far about Black Friday 2022...
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday began in the US but in recent years has very much become a worldwide shopping phenomenon. 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 into the "black" (profit), hence Black Friday.
When is Black Friday?
The Black Friday 2022 date is Friday 25th November.
Black Friday always takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which means this year it will fall on Friday 25th 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 weeks leading up to Friday as well, not to mention over the weekend and into the almost-as-famous Cyber Monday sales event...
What about Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday 2022 will be Monday 28th 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!
Cyber Monday is always the Monday after Black Friday, and while much of the Black Friday deals focus is now online as well as in stores, plenty of websites still throw up some fresh deals to mark the occasion.
Where to get the best Black Friday deals?
A good number of 4K TVs, smart and Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones will almost certainly be on offer at pretty much every electronics retailer, while soundbars and hi-fi components are also likely to make an appearance in sales across the board (albeit perhaps in lesser quantities).
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 its dominance in the premium TV market, some cheap OLED TV deals are likely on the cards too.
Even though Amazon Australia has its fun with Amazon Prime Day and various other smaller events each year, we don't see the online retail giant missing out on the Black Friday sales. To compete with all the other retailers, it is often a go-to destination for choice deals during Black Friday. Those looking to buy into or build upon an Amazon Alexa ecosystem will surely be able to save money on the Echo speaker range, too.
Retailers such as Sony and LG will also likely host Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts on their own websites, 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. Indeed, the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period pretty much nears a week.
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. We usually do find the absolute best deals are saved for the actual days, though, with the most exceptional deals tending to sell out and therefore not spill into the following days.
What Black Friday deals can you expect?
LG OLED TVs, JBL Bluetooth speakers, Sony and Bose wireless headphones and earbuds, Amazon Echo devices, Apple AirPods... you get the drill. Some of the most popular products in the consumer electronics space are almost guaranteed to be on offer at pretty much every electronics retailer during the Black Friday sales, from Amazon to JB Hi-Fi to The Good Guys.
Previous big-sellers over Black Friday also include the Sonos One and Beam, Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speakers, Denon AV receivers and Roku TVs.
We fully expect the latest flagship noise-cancelling headphones from Sony – the WH-1000XM5 over-ear and WF-1000XM4 earbuds – to be discounted this Black Friday, as they are typically among the biggest sellers over the sales period. But it isn't just premium audio kit that gets the Black Friday treatment. There are often handfuls of decent gear from big brands available for under AU$100 too.
Are Black Friday deals any good?
After the initial few years of excitement around Black Friday, we naturally moved to the apathy stage, as people began to question whether the offers were genuinely good deals. And it remains up for debate.
For example, it's not unusual to see discounted products rise in price in the summer months ahead of a "price cut" come Black Friday. Naturally, this means you're essentially just getting the original discounted price from earlier in the year. That said, there are always genuine deals and often unprecedented "lowest ever" prices to be had – it's just finding them amongst the onslaught of offers.
That's where we come in; we will handpick all the best TV, audio and AV deals across Australian retailers to identify the genuine Black Friday 2022 deals. And don't forget: you can always refer back to our in-depth reviews to check up on a specific product's performance, features and value for money.
It's best to have a rough idea of what you want in mind – whether that be noise-cancelling wireless headphones, a discounted 55-inch 4K OLED TV or a cheap record player – but restricting yourself only to specific models will reduce your chance of being lucky in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Pick the features you fancy, then see what ticks your boxes and has the best Black Friday discount.
- See the best soundbars (opens in new tab) you can buy in Australia
- And the best TVs and best wireless earbuds too
