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.

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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 20:00 · Andrew Griffin]

You can get a PS4 with Call of Duty: WWII, Gran Turismo Sport, Hidden Agenda and a Turtle Beach Recon 150 headset for £249.99 on Amazon, down from £306.97. Grab it here.

If that's not your cup of tea, we've got even more gaming deals here.

[23 November 2017 22:22 · Andrew Griffin]

If you're a Mac rather than a PC, we've got loads of Apple deals here. As well as MacBooks, you can save on iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches too.   

[24 November 2017 00:00 · Andrew Griffin]

Amazon has just reduced the price of the Nintendo Switch with Super Mario Odyssey to £279.99 from £375. It's a hugely popular console and a fantastic game, so don't expect stocks to last too long. You can find the deal here.

[24 November 2017 08:40 · Andrew Griffin]

Not all of today's deals are for gadgets and home goods. Some are on the sort of things you might not expect: the Picturehouse cinema chain, for instance, is running a promotion where you can get 40 per cent off a membership. (Though it's a little difficult to buy – you can try and do so here.)

[24 November 2017 09:05 · Andrew Griffin]

Amazon has provided an update on how Black Friday is going so far. The company says that, since midnight, customers have ordered more than 63,000 toys and 32,000 beauty products.Some of the best-selling items on Amazon.co.uk so far include the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and Echo Dot, as well as the Nintendo Switch, Bosch PSB 1800 LI-2 Cordless Combi Drill with Two 18 V Lithium-Ion Batteries and LEGO Ninjago Movie 70609 Manta Ray Bomber Toy.

[24 November 2017 09:12 · Andrew Griffin]

Hoping to get a high-end Black Friday deal at Harrods? Think again.“We won’t do Black Friday,” Harrods managing director Michael Ward said in an interview with Bloomberg TV this week. “That’s not in our DNA.”The iconic London department store, which prides itself on specifically asking customers to wear “proper attire, including tops and shirts” when visiting, is seemingly generally not a fan of mass-discounting.Mr Ward said that the practice “cheapens your brand”.

[24 November 2017 09:26 · Andrew Griffin]

Ryanair has just launched its own Black Friday Weekend sale.“We have up to 20 per cent off 5 million seats for travel from December to April, which are only available until midnight Sunday,” the company’s head of communications said.He said that as part of the promotion, the airline is also running a 20 per cent discount on all bags booked before midnight Sunday.

[24 November 2017 10:02 · Andrew Griffin]

GAME had a few issues with its website after it launched its Black Friday deals, with some users saying it completely crashed. It’s working again now though, so you can take advantage of deals like the PS4 Pro 1TB + GT Sport + inFamous Second Son for £349.99, and the Nintendo Switch for £279.99. 

[24 November 2017 10:15 · Andrew Griffin]

“We can’t blank over it. We’d like to, but we can’t. Do I wish it had stayed in the US? Yes, I do. It’s not in the retailers’ interests for us all to be offering heavy discounts on our Christmas lines.”

Those are the words of former John Lewis boss Andy Street, explaining in 2015 why Black Friday has become the bane of UK retailers’ lives. 

[24 November 2017 10:24 · Andrew Griffin]

Looks like someone let Ronald loose on the McDonald's Twitter account.