Black Friday this year is fast approaching and unlike in previous years, it’s no longer a one day event. Black Friday weekend spans four days from Friday 27^th November 2015 until (and including) Cyber Monday and serves up lots of slashed prices on all sorts of products, handily just before Christmas.

So what is Black Friday and how do you know you’re actually getting a good deal? Well Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, an annual national holiday in North America held on the fourth Thursday in November. Although it’s not certain where Black Friday originated there are a few theories to how it came about:

1. The name came from the US state Philadelphia and referred to all the traffic and congestion caused by the volume of people off work the day after Thanksgiving
2. Smog built up on this day from all the vehicles on the roads in cities and towns, leading to a black fog in the air
3. Retailers have put a positive spin on the day, by saying that it’s the first day of the year where they turn from running at a financial loss (in the red) to black

So Black Friday has led to it being a day (or in our case a weekend) of deals, and they’re usually pretty good. But it is always worth making sure that you are actually getting a decent deal so there are a few things to think about:

1. Check the original price – make sure that your ‘mega deal’ is actually a ‘mega deal’, it’s all down to price and what you’re willing to pay
2. Think about Christmas presents – what better time to get that ideal gift a little bit cheaper
3. Extra charges – Especially on white goods and brown goods consider if you require extra services like installation or recycling of your old appliance? If you do, be prepared for the overall cost to increase

No matter where the name ‘Black Friday’ originally came from, the Gerald Giles Black Friday Weekend in Norwich promises to be full of discounted products on TVs, Blu-Ray players, Speaker Systems, Washing Machines, Dishwashers and from well known household brands including Sony, Bosch, Miele, Samsung, Bose and more. Check out our Black Friday weekend from the 27^th November at our Ber Street store in Norwich or online before the deals disappear.