‘Tis the season for bargains ─ Black Friday sales ─ with retailers and brands offering discounts and deals across all categories, including appliances, tech, beauty, telco, and more.
There’s a lot of hype (and marketing gimmicks) around this sales event, but fret not, because Canstar Blue is here to help you shop smarter, not harder. If you’re looking to nab Black Friday deals this year, check out our expert round-up below.
Black Friday is a global retail event that unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In Australia, Black Friday falls on Friday, 24 November 2023 – although retailers have already started slashing prices across their range. Run don’t walk, because stocks may be limited this year.
Black Friday originated in the U.S and usually takes place on the first Friday after Thanksgiving each year. Despite the name, Black Friday sales run for more than a day and continue until Cyber Monday and even thereafter.
Pro Tip: You can stack deals and combine offers between Black Friday and Cyber Monday to maximise your chances of scoring the best deals. For example, you could score a designer kettle for 10% off on Black Friday and get the matching toaster at 15% off on Cyber Monday, or vice versa. Use a price tracker to scope out what deals your favourite brands and retailers are offering and work out which day(s) are better to shop. Don’t forget to ask your retailer if they price match (which many do!).
Cyber Monday is a major e-commerce shopping event that follows Black Friday. It’s basically an online extension of Black Friday sales, so deals will be available over the weekend as well. In Australia, Cyber Monday falls on Monday, 27 November 2023. Cyber Monday typically takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.
Pro tip: The biggest discounts on international brands and select categories like tech, gaming, and electronics, can be had in Cyber Monday sales.
Canstar Blue Editor-in-Chief
Christine Seib is Canstar Blue’s Editor-in-Chief, where she oversees the production and distribution of all content, whether it be news on our site, Facebook posts about our unique research, email newsletters containing our latest buying guides or in appearances as a consumer-purchasing expert on 9 News, 7 News and in print and digital media across Australia.
Christine has almost three decades’ experience as an award-winning journalist and editor with some of the world’s largest media platforms, including The Times, CNBC and The Australian, and has focused on digital content production, distribution and monetisation for the past 15 years. She honed her skills on the content-commercial nexus at media and e-commerce scale-up Starts at 60, where as Chief Content Officer.
Being a die-hard news junky doesn’t leave much downtime but Christine does have a few other favourite things: Pomeranians, bromeliads, tattoos and sideshow memorabilia – in no particular order!
Utilities Editor
Tara Donnelly is Canstar Blue’s Utilities Editor, leading the team that focuses on electricity, solar, mobile, broadband and consumer technology, across news, reviews and how-tos. Tara’s spent a decade covering these topics in Australia, the US and Canada, which means she’s covered countless phone launches and industry changes, including the rise of 5G and Australia’s ongoing NBN rollout.
Tara also has long experience in writing about telco within the comparison industry, giving her great insights into the information consumers want when determining which internet plan or mobile plan or device will best meet their needs, while time spent in the financial sector lets her crunch the numbers on price with ease.
Her telco expertise has seen her appear in national media including 9 News, 7 News, Sunrise, the ABC and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Site Editor
Dean Heckscher is Canstar Blue’s Site Editor, and leads Canstar Blue’s entry into new areas of content. He also covers everything from appliances to small business, streaming services and the vehicles scene. Dean’s been writing in the comparison industry for more than four years, and prior to that, worked for three years as a freelance writer whose work has included CarHamlet, Viw Magazine and Simple Living Australia.
Dean has dual Bachelor degrees in Business and Creative & Professional Writing from the Queensland University of Technology and completed further training in SEO and social media to further his expertise in producing digital content.
Senior Telco Specialist
Emma Bradstock is Canstar Blue’s Senior Telco Specialist, which means she covers all things telco, from news about the latest smartphone releases and reviews to 5G guides, hot NBN deals and mobile and internet industry news. Emma’s passionate about helping consumers find a better deal on their phone and internet plans, along with explaining hard-to-understand topics so Aussies can buy with confidence.
Her experience in creating content for websites, social media, in email and on video allows her to provide this info for consumers in plenty of formats and on multiple platforms – handy when the topic is particularly tricky.
Emma has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media from Macquarie University and a decade of professional writing experience at print and digital media outlets and for digital agencies.
Energy Specialist
Kelseigh Wrigley is Canstar Blue’s Energy Specialist, where she covers the retail energy market, with a focus on electricity, gas and solar. Previously, Kelseigh contributed to online publications such as Hunter and Bligh, and even had a short stint on the airwaves, reporting local news for community radio station 4ZZZ.
She joined the Canstar Blue team after completing a Bachelor of Journalism at the Queensland University of Technology.
Home & Lifestyle Content Producer
Kate King is a Content Producer in Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle team, where she writes about appliances and consumer products. She has been a writer for more than five years across a number of disciplines, from journalistic feature writing to search content production and marketing copywriting. Not only has she contributed her writing skills, but Kate has also had her turn in leadership editorial roles for QUT’s 2020 issue of Frocket Zine and other small startup projects.
Kate has a Bachelor of Creative Industries majoring in Media and Communications and Journalism from the Queensland University of Technology.
In Australia, Black Friday 2023 falls on Friday, 24 November. Sales traditionally start when the clock strikes midnight, or even a few days before the official sales event starts. As Black Friday was originally a U.S shopping event before it became global, it always falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Most of Australia’s major retailers will offer Black Friday deals, including (not but limited to):
The best way to find out which brands are having Black Friday sales is to visit their respective websites and those of major retailers to see which deals are advertised there. Black Friday sales span various retail categories including fashion, tech, beauty, toys, homewares, and more.
Select retailers and brands strictly offer deals on Black Friday for 24 hours only, but most will continue their sales over the weekend until Cyber Monday, which gives you about four days of shopping frenzy. Similarly, many brands offer ‘early bird’ deals before the official Black Friday start date.
The deals you’ll see on Cyber Monday and Black Friday are similar. Cyber Monday simply offers shoppers an additional chance to score bargains sold out on Black Friday and if you’re clever, you can combine both shopping events to boost your savings. Keep in mind that it’s not uncommon for some retailers (not all) to offer further discounts on Cyber Monday before all the deals wrap up, so it may be worth waiting and shopping around ─ although you also run the risk of losing out if a particular brand or item you had your eye on sells out of stock before then.
In Australia, the biggest sales fall around the end of the financial year (EOFY), around tax time, and on Boxing Day, which is after Christmas. Black Friday is an excellent chance to squeeze in another round of bargains just in time for the gift-giving season. Generally, Black Friday provides the best online deals on fashion, sports and leisure, beauty, electronics, and gaming, while Boxing Day offers better deals on toys, pet supplies, homewares, and travel and entertainment.
Got some deals that you want people to see? Get in contact with our Commercial Team!