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Black Friday 2021: early deals are already here

(Image credit: Future)

The official dates of Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 are less than a month away. But you may have noticed that several key retailers are bringing things forward this year, and have started to release their Black Friday deals early. And below, we've put together the very best ones, just for you!

The weekend of Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 is expected to offer some of the biggest discounts of the year, and it's worth paying attention to if you're considering investing in pretty much anything, from tech to furniture. But as you'll see below, to get a good deal on some items, you might not have to wait until the official date itself.

Based on past Black Friday sales, we expect to see great offers coming up on everything from Black Friday TV deals to Apple Black Friday deals, Black Friday savings on Adobe software and Black Friday drawing tablet deals. To grab the best Black Friday deals, you need to be prepared because they go quick. Read on for everything you need to know – and to see some great early Black Friday deals – and get this page bookmarked because we'll be updating it regularly as new deals appear.

When is Black Friday 2021?

Black Friday 2021 is now less than a month away. It falls on the weekend after Thanksgiving in the US, which means that Black Friday 2021 is on 26 November. Cyber Monday follows right after on Monday 29 November, often offering further discounts on anything that's left.

Of course, those are the "official" dates. Retailers are increasingly anticipating the hype and getting in early with Black Friday deals, even as early as the end of October. Black Friday 2021 appears to have started earlier than ever with several major retailers already offering massive Black Friday deals.

Many retailers are likely to still be saving their most exciting deals for the official Black Friday weekend, but in the US, Amazon has launched advance Black Friday deals in the form of its Epic Daily Deals, while Best Buy is promising guaranteed Black Friday prices and Walmart is offering Black Friday Preview deals. See below for a selection of the best early Black Friday deals, first in the US and then in the UK. Note that with all these deals, stock can go very quickly.

Best early Black Friday deals: US

Skip to best early Black Friday deals: UK

Best early Black Friday deals: UK

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021: How to find the best deals

With so many retailers participating, and so many products included, how can you make sure you find the best Black Friday deals? And how can be sure that it really is a bargain you're getting?

Our first suggestion is to bookmark this page! We'll be updating it regularly with direct links to retailers' best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals. This will save you from having to scour dozens of different ' sites, and potentially thousands of different products to find the Black Friday savings that are really worth snapping up.

Another wise move is to start thinking now about what you might want to buy. That way you can start tracking the price, and you'll recognise a genuinely good deal when you see one. You can also start checking which retailers stock the products you're after. That way you'll know exactly where to check when the sales start rolling (see below for our list of retailers to watch on Black Friday).

Black Friday 2021 sales: Retailers to watch

Most major international retailers hold Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales of some kind. For reference, here is a list of the retailers who offered some of the biggest and best deals in 2020. We can be fairly confident that they'll be taking part again this year, and we'll be linking directly to their best deals on this very page as soon as they start appearing.

Skip to Black Friday retailers: UK

Black Friday retailers: US

Amazon – we've already seen record deals on AirPods, OLED TVs and more.
ASOS – expect more good savings here
Best Buy – already offering Black Friday prices on 4K TVs, laptops, iPads, and more
B&H Photo – expect Black Friday savings on cameras and other tech
Emma mattress – great Black Friday savings on mattresses
Microsoft Store – expect savings on Microsoft products
Nike – save up to 40% off shoes and clothing
Target – huge deals on TVs, toys, Dyson, Keurig, and more
Walmart – Walmart+ members get early access to Black Friday deals from 3 November
Wayfair – up to 50% off Christmas decorations!

Black Friday retailers: UK

Adobe – we saw discounts on Creative Cloud in 2020.
Amazon – we've already seen record deals on AirPods, OLED TVs and more.
AO – UK deals on home appliances
Argos – Savings on a range of items in the UK
ASOS – expect more good savings here
Currys PC World – great tech savings in the UK
John Lewis – expect good UK Black Friday deals
Microsoft Store – expect savings on Microsoft products
Nike – save up to 40% off shoes and clothing
Very – UK savings on clothing and gifts

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021: What deals can we expect?

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 we saw some of the best deals we've seen since Creative Bloq started covering the event. Retailers usually offer Black Friday deals on older models, but in 2020 we were very pleased to find deals on newer devices, even on Apple's new M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops.

We saw Adobe knock 20 per cent off its Creative Cloud suite, and there were some unbeatable Nintendo Switch deals, in both the UK and US. Based on previous years, we expect Black Friday 2021 to see deals on a whole range of items, including top tech, creative software, furniture and home essentials. There really is something for everyone during this weekend (or month) of massive sales, so no matter what sort of deal you're looking for, you're sure to find a saving that tempts you.

Of course, there may be some limitations on this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday events due to global supply issues. Chips in particular are in short supply, and this has been causing distribution problems for a lot of tech products. New consoles in particular have been hard to get hold of. With less supply overall, and customers unable to get their hands on many items they want, retailers may be less likely to offer big deals on some tech products.

Does Apple have Black Friday deals?

Yes, it usually does – but not in the way you might hope. Apple does join in but rather than offering discounts on its devices, it usually offers gift cards. If you spend money at the Apple store, you get a gift card to redeem at the Apple store at a later date.

Last year, you could get up to $200 / £160, but you had to buy a MacBook to get the top gift card. It's a welcome bonus, but it's not a direct saving on the device you wanted to buy. This means that if you're after an Apple Black Friday discount, you're generally better off looking at other retailers that sell Apple products (see above) rather than heading directly to Apple itself. To make things easier for you, we also have a dedicated page where we'll be highlighting all the best Apple Black Friday deals. If you have a specific product in mind, see the best Black Friday iPad deals or our roundup of MacBook Black Friday deals.

Read more:

The best iPad deals
Apple keyboards: The best Magic keyboard for iPad Pro and Mac
The best iPhone 11 deals: discount Apple iPhone sale is live now

Rosie Hilder is the deputy editor of Creative Bloq. Before joining the CB team in 2018, she worked on a range of print titles, including Time Out Buenos Aires, Computer Arts, 3D World, Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. Her interests lie in branding and illustration, tech and sexism, and plenty more in-between.