When is Black Friday?
When do Black Friday smart home deals begin?
Some Black Friday deals will kick off before the big day. Some deals will be available from the start of November. If you’re looking out for specific products, start checking the prices from the beginning of the month. The best price may appear before the big day itself.
Are Black Friday smart home deals worth it?
Over the past few years, people have become a bit less trusting of Black Friday deals – which is understandable. Some deals are better than others and it’s not always clear which is which. After an initial launch, some products drop in price below their release MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) or RRP (recommended retail price). A product might have an initial RRP of $89.99/ £89.99 but within a few months it could be widely available for $74.99/ £74.99. Before Black Friday, some brands and retailers may bump products back up to the MSRP/ RRP, so that when the Black Friday price is announced, the discount appears even deeper. For example, if the price is slashed to $64.99/ £64.99, it’ll seem like a $25/ £25 / 28% discount, rather than the actual $10/ £10/ 13% discount. It’s still money off – and may still be a solid deal – but it’s not exactly as advertised. However, there are plenty of other discount, often on products have been available for a while, or those that have been superseded by a newer model, that are not only good but excellent. The trick is knowing where the real savings are.
How to shop for Black Friday smart home deals
It’s a good idea to decide in advance what tech you’re shopping for and then be open to the best deals on the day. For example, if you’re interested in buying a robot vacuum cleaner, have a budget in mind and a feature set that you really want. This way, when a deal comes up, you can quickly check if it’s right for you and jump on it before it sells out. If you’re looking for a product from a specific brand, you’ll probably have a good sense of what its regular price is. Then decide on what you’ll be willing to pay. Is it worth buying at 10% off? Are you holding out for 25%? Or a third off? Also look out for curated lists of the best Black Friday deals from specialists. Serious bargain hunters will also sign up to newsletters and download apps from their favourite retailers to get real-time sales alerts.
Where will you find the best deals?
If you’re looking for smart home deals in the US, check: In the UK, you’ll find some of the best deals from major retailers. Try:
What kind of deals can you expect?
Deals on smart assistants
In the UK, Currys regularly bundles a Google smart assistant with a Fitbit, or slashes the price of one model of smart assistant, so look out for that to save up to 50% off.
Deals on smart lighting
Smart security discounts and bundles
Smart thermostat discounts
Black Friday is a great time to invest in smart heating with regular discounts of 25-30% on smart thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves from Hive Active Heating, Drayton Wiser, Tado, Nest and more. Spending on Black Friday could help you to make savings on your energy bills during the coldest months of the year.
Robot and regular vacuum cleaner deals
Discounted Dyson products also tend to sell out quickly. Many retailers will put one model on sale to clear stock: in 2022, there were big discounts on the V15 Detect, which is unusual for a flagship product. It was available for around $150/£150 off during some days over the Black Friday/ Cyber Monday sales. However, none of the sales lasted the entire weekend: we imagine that stock sold out. You should also check the Dyson website itself for new and refurbished models, as well as eBay.
Electric toothbrush deals
You’ll need to shop carefully to get a good deal on an electric toothbrush on Black Friday. Electric toothbrush retailers are among the worst for strategically shifting prices, in the UK at least. US buyers will have a much easier time of it. An electric toothbrush’s RRP will often drop by half to two-thirds after a few months – or even just a few weeks – of being on sale. But retailers will still use the RRP to calculate deals. Here’s an example. In the UK, the Oral-B iO8 had an inflated RRP of £450 but pre-Black Friday last year, you could buy the iO8 from Oral-B in the UK for £170 (38% of the RRP). On Black Friday any discount on the brush was compared to the £450 RRP but what you’d really be looking for is to find it for less than the generally available £170 price point. To see some good deals now, check out our round-up of the best electric toothbrush deals, which is updated every month. As we get closer to the date, we’ll be bringing together the best Black Friday tech deals in our handy guide, which is a good resource to bookmark. Emma is Home Tech Editor at Tech Advisor. She covers everything from kitchen appliances to smart home devices, from floor care to personal care to air care technology. She’s particularly interested in environmentally conscious brands and products that save people time and money.
