Black Friday as it happened: Deals, news and offers from across the web

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday 2017 is expected to be the busiest shopping event of the year. Though sales were supposed to kick off on 24 November, the day after Thanksgiving 2017, major retailers sent their Black Friday deals live early this year.

It's a great time to purchase all manner of products, such as laptops, TVs, smartphones, furniture, clothes and even alcohol.

Click here for Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

There have been a staggering number of offers to choose from and, as ever, consumers have had to move quickly to get their hands on them.

As we’ve learned from previous Black Fridays, consumers can get fiercely competitive, with in-store fights sadly not uncommon. Fortunately, it can be much easier to find your bargains online.

However, while many Black Friday deals are genuinely great, others aren't.

After all, as well as being the best time of the year to pick up bargains and get your Christmas shopping out of the way, Black Friday is also the best time for retailers to get rid of their unwanted stock and make offers look better than they really are.

Here are the best Black Friday 2017 deals we spotted.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.

Key Points

• The very best Black Friday 2017 deals available right now
• Our favourite Black Friday deals from Amazon
• iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Apple Watch deals
• The best TV deals for any budget
• The best games and console deals for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox fans
• Laptop deals for MacOS, Windows and Chromebook users 
• The best Black Friday fashion and beauty discounts
• Sofa, bed and furniture deals from the best retailers

[23 November 2017 12:02 · Andrew Griffin]

Hello, and welcome to our Black Friday 2017 live blog.

[23 November 2017 12:03 · Andrew Griffin]

We know it's only Thursday, but lots of retailers have decided to start their sales early and there's already plenty of offers to choose from.

[23 November 2017 12:04 · Andrew Griffin]

Over the next few days, we'll be gathering up the best deals on the web, to help you find some lovely bargains.

[23 November 2017 12:18 · Andrew Griffin]

Try not to get carried away though, and don’t automatically assume that the prices you see on Black Friday are the best you’ll get.

According to Which?, around 60 per cent of a selection of last year’s Black Friday deals were actually cheaper or the same price at other points during the year.

[23 November 2017 12:28 · Andrew Griffin]

You should also consider a retailer’s delivery fees before committing to an offer and check its returns policy to avoid any nasty surprises later down the line.

[23 November 2017 12:45 · Andrew Griffin]

Black Friday isn’t just for products. You can save money on your holidays too, whether that’s with a cheap hotel room, discounted flights or package holiday offers. Here’s where you need to look. 

[23 November 2017 13:04 · Andrew Griffin]

Bing says most people seem to be on the lookout for 4K TV deals this year. You can find our pick of the best TV offers here, from the 32-inch Toshiba LED Full HD Smart TV at £199, to the 55-inch Sony Bravia OLED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart Android TV at £2,799. 

It also thinks 59 per cent of people who get involved in Black Friday 2017 will be shopping for themselves, with the remaining 41 per cent using it as an opportunity to get get the Christmas shopping sorted. 

[23 November 2017 13:30 · Andrew Griffin]

Amazon loves Black Friday, and - as ever - has dropped the prices of loads of its products. The excellent Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote is now available for £24.99 instead of £39.99, the Fire HD 10 tablet is down from £149.99 to £109.99 and the all-new Echo speaker is down from £89.99 to £69.99. 

You can find the full list of Amazon’s deals here. 

[23 November 2017 14:27 · Andrew Griffin]

A new study has found that 68 per cent of British shoppers believe Black Friday was established solely as a marketing gimmick, and 65 per cent will resist the temptation to buy a Christmas gift in the Black Friday sales.

[23 November 2017 19:00 · Andrew Griffin]

If you're on the hunt for a new computer, Currys is currently selling the touchscreen 14-inch HP Pavilion 2-in-1 for £488, down from £649.99.