Amazon Black Friday preview: Deals to start 10 days early
Amazon, who has been at the forefront of the Black Friday sales since online shopping took off, are due to start their sales early this year, cutting prices for the discount event from 17 November.
The online retailer has become well-known for their 'lightning deals', giving shoppers limited windows to access deals on specific products. This year, we can expect to see discounts on Amazon's Echo and Echo Dot products, as well as on big-ticket items like TVs, laptops and white goods.
Black Friday originated in Philadelphia, USA in the early 1950s but it was online giant Amazon who disrupted the UK shopping scene by introducing it to the UK in 2010.
Most of the Black Friday action now takes place online and the original UK Black Friday e-tailer continues to slash prices during the sales bonanza.
This year the action falls on 24 November, while sales will continue until Cyber Monday on 27 November. If you want to be in line for the latest offers but don't fancy standing in a queue all afternoon, follow our comprehensive coverage to keep up with the latest offers.
Check back on this page when Black Friday arrives to find our hand-picked selection of the best deals from online giant, Amazon. For now, here are our tips for bagging their best deals - and which in-demand products to look out for.
How to prepare for bagging the best Amazon deals on Black Friday
Amazon, as one of the champions of Black Friday in the UK, is understandably one of the top-searched sites for shoppers to grab a discount online.
The web giant has its own dedicated Black Friday deals page where you will be able to find all the offers first. Amazon also has a daily deals page where you can find the best offers today, email newsletter sign ups for Amazon's latest news and the dedicated Amazon app.
It's also worth signing up to Amazon Prime, which costs £79 per year or is available for a free month-long trial, if you just want to get the best offers for Black Friday.
Amazon Prime gives you free next-day delivery on thousands of items and early access to lightning deals - offers which run for a limited time only.
Amazon's Black Friday history
Amazon was the frontrunner for Black Friday in the UK in 2010 and has since tried to stay ahead of the game on its rivals. Black Friday was previously its biggest ever UK sales day but has since been eclipsed by its own-branded Prime Day over the summer.
Last year, Amazon began cutting prices two weeks before Black Friday, so many predict a similar sales event this year. Rivals such as Carphone Warehouse and Currys PC World also ran longer sales, such as a 10-day 'Black Tag' event on Currys.
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Amazon will offer price cuts on a wide range of items, from video games to consoles, home electronics to fashion, toys to toiletries. But you can also expect great deals on a whole host of Amazon's own items, including the Fire Tablet, Kindle and Amazon Echo range of smart home speakers.
Amazon has recently updated its range of home speakers in addition to its original Echo and Echo Dot. All the speakers use its AI Alexa and can be used to answer questions, read the news, play music or manage other smart home appliances.
Amazon normally slashes its prices around Black Friday on its own items - so here are the deals to look out for.
New Echo
Amazon has replaced the first version of its Echo speaker with a device of the same name. The new Echo is slightly shorter and wider than its predecessor and comes in metal, wooden and material finishes. It is cheaper than the original Echo and comes out in the UK on October 31.
Price: £89.99
Echo Plus
Visually more akin to the first generation of Amazon’s voice-activated speaker, the Echo Plus has better sound quality and works as a smart home hub. It is also released on October 31 in the UK.
Price: £139.99
Echo Show
Unveiled back in May, the Echo Show is an Alexa-powered device with a 7-inch touchscreen for video calling and other visual content like song lyrics. It will arrive in the UK just in time for Black Friday, being released on November 16. Amazon is also due to release a smaller version, called the Echo Spot, but this will not be here in the UK this year.
Price: £199.99
Echo Buttons
Billed as stocking fillers that will 'bring back family games nights', Echo Buttons are an accessory for the Echo - rather than Echos themselves - that connect to the speaker via Bluetooth. They are due before Christmas, so may not be ready in time for Black Friday.
Price: £19.99
What other deals can we expect this year?
Amazon won't just offer value on its own items - you can expect deals across a range of items from fashion to books. Here are just some of the products we found on offer last year:
Le Creuset Cast Iron Provencale Round Casserole, £79.99, reduced £115 (30 per cent saving)
Nescafé Dolce Gusto Melody 3 Coffee Machine - £37.99, reduced from £70.71 (46 per cent saving)
Bosch PSR 18 Cordless NiCad Drill Driver - £80.16, reduced from £109.99 (27pc saving)
Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones - £89, reduced from £199.99 (55 per cent saving)
Sony Bravia KD49XD7004BU 49" Android 4K HDR Ultra HD Smart TV - £550, reduced from £799 (31 per cent saving)
Plus, check out our guides to Black Friday TV deals if you are after a new model.
Savvy shopper tips for Amazon
When using Amazon it's always good to check and see if there are even better deals elsewhere and that you are getting the best rate and discount.
Price-tracking service CamelCamelCamel lets you see the historical price of an item to make sure you're not buying at a high point, while Flubit and Beat My Deal are both sites that claim they can find better prices for you.
The Telegraph has broken down all the best ways and tricks to getting a good deal online, so check that out before you buy.
Verdict
Amazon will probably hold another long sale for Black Friday over several days, while you can expect it to slash prices on its branded items as it tries to get more people into the Alexa ecosystem.
Definitely grab an Amazon Prime free trial if you do not already have one to take advantage of price cuts and lightning deals.
The Telegraph makes a small amount of money by adding affiliate links to products mentioned in this article, however all products are picked independently by our journalists.
