Black Friday – live: Early deals from PlayStation, Dyson and more

According to our tech writer, the Xbox series X is one of the best gaming consoles ever made. It makes sense then, that its biggest drawback is its price. Discounts on the console are hard to come by too, until recently, that is. Gamers assemble, as the powerful, blisteringly fast  console has fallen to its lowest ever price, thanks to a pre-Black Friday discount, at Amazon.

It may come as a surprise that historically, M&S hasn’t actually taken part in Black Friday. That being said, it does have myriad offers on its own brand products (think hampers and Percy Pig-themed gifts), and across popular brands like Sweaty Betty, White Stuff and more. Helen has selected some of the best seasonal M&S deals to shop now.

Black Friday is the ideal time to get your Christmas shopping underway and if that means filling kids’ stockings then you’ll likely want to hear about the best deals on toys. Every year, the likes of Disney, Lego, Barbie and other big-name brands drop thousands of deals, and every year IndyBest is here to bring you the best of the best.

We’ve already found some pretty great savings on Furby, Hot Wheels, Tonies and Squishmallows – and we’ll be constantly updating our best toys guide as more deals roll in.

One of the most talked about names in hair care is undoubtedly Olaplex. And the hype is well deserved, with our reviewer noting it’s “nailed the formula of each of its products”, when they put tehe brand’s range to the test. 

For me, this deal is particularly tempting, covering the No3 hair perfector, the No4 bond maintenance shampoo, and the No5 bond maintenance conditioner. While the set is actually worth a whopping £72, it’s been reduced even further, to £40, for Black Friday. 

While the official Apple Store doesn’t like to get too involved with Black Friday, you can still find worthwhile deals at third party retailers. Case in point, Amazon’s slashed the price of the Apple Watch Ultra by £50.

The Apple Watch Ultra not only boasts a bigger screen than other Apple Watches, but double the battery life. “The display is fantastic, offering outstanding brightness and exceptional readability, thanks to the size and flatness of the screen. It’s called the Ultra because it does more than previous models – from crash detection to depth monitoring to having a design that works with thick gloves underwater, for instance,” our tech critic said in their review.

It’s one label many of us will have on our radar during the Black Friday sales, but when does Zara’s sale actually start?

If previous years are anything to go by, it should begin 24 November, but I’m forecasting deals on the Zara app a little earlier, on Thursday 23 November.

Here’s to hoping the discounts will be as good as last year, when footwear was discounted by up to 40 per cent, and accessories by up to 50 per cent.

Here’s Daisy with more intel, and some Zara deals you can shop now.

Simba hybrid luxe mattress, double: Was £2,309, now £1,269.95, Simba.com

If you’re looking for a new mattress, Simba is a name to know, and it’s launched a Black Friday sale with up to 55 per cent off. Case in point, plump for the double Simba’s hybrid luxe mattress, and you can save more than £1,000. When we reviewed the mattress, our writer said it helped them “sleep more soundly”, adding: “It’s a super-comfortable, supportive and innovatively designed mattress.”

Great question. There are two leading theories.

One of the first uses of Black Friday dates back to 1950s Philadelphia, where the local police department coined the term to describe the huge traffic jams, overcrowded pavements and mobbed stores in the city on the day after Thanksgiving.

The second leading theory is that financial institutions used it to signal when companies would go from being in the red to being in the black. This would usually occur after Thanksgiving and ahead of Christmas, hence Black Friday.

Karcher is the name to know when it comes to window vacs. Granted it’s not the most glamorous household product, but since discounts started dropping I’ve had my eye out for Karcher window vac Black Friday deals. Karcher is certainly no stranger to sales on Amazon (you’ll see it popping up in the deals section a lot), and while this isn’t the lowest ever price for this particular vac, it’s pretty close. If you’re in the market for a window ac, you could wait until next week to see if it’s reduced further, but I reckon it’s a pretty good deal to snap up now.

Last year, Le Creuset’s “colourful Friday” – its Black Friday sale – saw discounts of up to 40 per cent. This year, its Black Friday sale has outdone itself, returning with discounts of up to 50 per cent off.

Hefty discounts are available on the coastal blue and ocean blue colourways. I’ve got my eye on the cafetière (it’s less than half price).

Le Creuset cast iron round casserole: Was £255, now £155, Lecreuset.co.uk

Le Creuset is famed for its cast iron casserole, which it has dubbed “the queen of the kitchen”. In our review of the classic cookware, our tester didn’t disagree, and said: “I use it fairly often and while it’s a little less box-fresh, it’s remained in pretty good nick in the seven years that I’ve had it.” Thanks to the Le Creuset sale, there’s a discount just shy of 40 per cent on the coastal blue coloruway.