The wait is over - the most chaotic bargain bonanza of the year is upon us.
Black Friday kicked off at midnight and all manner of shops have discounted their loot in a bid for your hard earned pounds. Follow live updates from across the UK on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Key Events
What have we learnt from Black Friday as the shopping madness draws to a close
Now the working day is ending, people are beginning to head to the pub rather than the shops. But the Black Friday deals are still going on for those who are keen to snap up a few last bargains. Click here to discover the cream of the deals you don’t want to miss out on.
Compared to the violent scenes of last year, this year has been very sedate, with barely a single punch up reported. There was one video of what looked to be a rather nasty brawl - but it was proved to be a fake. This was a far cry from our American cousins, who thought nothing of a punch up or two as they fought over TVs.
But, even though there were no violent fights, people were definitely competing for bargains online. Alarms were set early across Britain on Friday morning, with a 55% rise in shoppers hunting for bargains at 6am compared to the popular sales date last year.
Some websites failed to cope with the demand, with Argos, JD Sports and Currys suffering outages as millions of customers flooded their websites in search of deals. It was estimated that the website problems would equate to a £4.33m loss against the predicted £1.07bn Black Friday revenue across the UK.
There were a few naysayers wanting us to hug rather than shop. But the bargains were hard to resist, with £60 off an iPad, £100 off a MacBook and flights for just £2.
Police warn bargain hunters may have fallen victim to cyber criminals
A 28-year-old was arrested in Middlesbrough after Tesco found someone trying to breach its online system and reported it to police. No customer details, financial or personal were obtained.
The Metropolitan Police’s cyber crime unit Falcon said it is investigating a technique known as “diagonal brute forcing” in which username and passwords obtained from previous hacks are used to check if that same combination of username and password has a valid account with other retailers. If a match is found, the account can be accessed.
Just who is grabbing the bargains?
Retailers were being a little less extravagant this year, with average discounts of 23% available to consumers, 10% lower than average discount of 33% last year.
But according to Voucherbox.co.uk, the shoppers have not been deterred, with online and offline stores racking up 250% more sales by midday in comparison to a normal Friday.
Alarms were set early across Britain on Friday morning, with a 55% rise in shoppers hunting for bargains at 6am compared to the popular sales date last year.
Women were far more active in the sales than men, the 66% female v 34% male gender split continuing the trend from last year. The age group making the highest savings were 25-34 year olds, followed by the 35-44 year olds. A 22% increase can be seen in the number of 45-55 year olds shopping for Black Friday bargains compared to 2014.
Zoella brings in the megabucks for Superdrug
Superdrug reckons YouTube vlogger Zoella was behind their best sales. The high street chemist said it had sold 40 Zoella Christmas gifts every hour during Black Friday. Its second most popular item was the Dove Beautiful You Christmas Gift Set, which has sold 23 sets every hour.
Websites crash under weight of Black Friday shopping
John Lewis’s website went down just after 3pm. When one disgruntled customer called up to confirm an order lost online they were told to call back in an hour. One IT analyst estimated that the company could have lost £2.8 million.
The Argos website also crashed several times earlier today and consumers were confronted with a holding page saying ‘Oops...Sorry to hold you up’.
Page load times for the UK retailer exceeded 10 seconds, in stark contrast to the 0.5 second page load time of its competitor Amazon.
Six things we have learnt from this year's Black Friday
As some of the Black Friday madness begins to cool down, the Mirror has done a round up of the six things we have learned from the annual shopping-fest.
Click here to discover more about British shopping habits.
Deal alert! Marks and Spencers offers half price fashion, home and beauty
Marks and Spencer is among one of the top retailers offering huge savings during the biggest shopping bonanza of the year. For this year’s Black Friday, the high street favourite is offering up to half price off home, clothing and beauty items.
For our roundup of the best M&S Black Friday deals, click here.
Hug a friend Friday
Those sick of the scramble for cut-price electronics can join thousands of others to sign up to “Buy Nothing Friday”.The Facebook campaign, set up by Edinburgh-based Sam Machin, urges people to “Join the Revolution” and so far has more than 30,000 attendees. Suggested alternatives to what is described as the “mindless consumption” of Black Friday include going for a walk and getting together with friends.
eBay releases second round of deals
eBay has launched a second wave of Black Friday deals after an “exceptionally busy morning”.
The company estimated 9million Brits were heading to its site today.
But there’s no huge hurry - the deals are running for eight consecutive days with new offers revealed at 8am each day.
For our round-up of the best eBay deals click here.
DEAL ALERT! 20% off at Selfridges
If you’re holding out for a sweet deal then Selfridges have offered a Black Friday deal that will put a smile on your face.
The top department store is offering 20% off across all departments.
Click here to find out the promo code.
Retailers' websites struggling
Given that people are ditching the shops in favour of shopping online, several retailers’ websites have been struggling to cope.
The Argos website has crashed several times, the Press Association reports, with pages taking almost four seconds to load from midday to 1pm.
Websites that have shown consistently good performance so far include Amazon, John Lewis and Boots, all of which have been available online for 100% of Black Friday.
Both Debenhams and Tesco have improved on their earlier difficulties. Between 12pm and 1pm, Debenhams’ speed was down to 0.8 seconds and Tesco’s stood at 0.9 seconds.
A spokesman for Tesco told the Press Association its site was “fully operational and we are happy with the number of orders received so far”.
Is it chaos on Oxford Street?
Shoppers are reporting of “mayhem” and “carnage” on Oxford Street as people descend on the high street to take advantage of Black Friday sales.
But is that “carnage” any more chaotic than a typical day on Oxford Street?
This photo looking out onto the road suggests things are pretty calm... for now
It's looking like a record breaking day
Black Friday is on its way to becoming the biggest online shopping day in UK history as consumers shun the high street in favour of purchasing on the web.
Online retailers are already reporting record-breaking sales from the first few hours of the event.
Retail analyst Experian-IMRG predicts that spending online will hit £1.07 billion, a 32% increase on last year’s £810 million.
Get cheap flights to Europe from £2
It’s not ALL about cheap gadgets and gizmos - many airlines are getting in on the action with flights to Europe from £2, Rome from £30 one-way and 25% off New York holidays with British Airways.
See our picks of the best flight deals this Black Friday here.
If it’s a cheap gadget you’re after through, here are the 10 websites to watch all day for Xbox One, PS4 and laptop deals.
... but there are notable differences between Black Friday in the US and UK
This hilarious video lays bare the differences between Brits and Americans on Black Friday.
Footage captured on both sides of the Atlantic show how manic shoppers were in America, while in Britain we did what we do best - queue.
It’s not all Black Friday chaos in the US
Some shopping malls in Brooklyn, New York, are as empty as they are in the UK
All the best fashion
It’s not just the big tech retailers and department stores getting in on all the Black Friday sale action.
Big high street fashion stores like Matalan, River Island, Topman and more are all following suit and offering exclusive Black Friday discounts on everything from outerwear and party season essentials to accessories and footwear.
To find out more about the best offers and where to find them, click here.
Don't worry - there are STILL deals available
Anyone who has not yet joined in the bargain hunting need not worry as there are still deals available.
Many shops remain well stocked owing to the less than spectacular start to Black Friday in the UK.
Online retailers are also still handing out quality deals.
To find out the best of them, click here.
How does this year compare to 2014?
Shops were braced for chaos as Black Friday began today - but in a huge anti-climax across the country the crowds failed to show up
It was a far cry from the mass frenzy of last year’s Black Friday where the hunt for bargains led to scenes of violence up and down the country.
These two images show the difference between the frenzy of last year and the relative calmness of today.
Lucy Larkin, managing director, Accenture UK, said: “The sheer scale of Black Friday last year took all retailers by surprise and as a result, they simply weren’t prepared. They struggled with their entire supply chain, from sorting and packing right through to having the courier network in place to deliver the goods to the customer in the timeframe that had been promised.
“As we have already seen this year, some retailers are taking a more controlled approach and we expect to see more of that as UK retailers get used to running Black Friday promotions here.”
To read more, click here.
'2,900 per cent increase'
Currys PC World said website traffic on Thursday was almost as high as Boxing Day last year and that this morning alone there has been a 1100% increase in hourly unique visitors and a 2900% increase on orders compared to this time last week.
Seven million visitors have visited the Currys PC World website this week alone.
A spokesperson said: “We’ve never had those crowds that you see on the news of people scrumming - that was other retailers.
“We want and are seeing a measured approach.
“People seem to be using their mobiles more than last year and switching to their desktop computers when they get to work - everyone has a lunch hour - that’s what I’d say.
“We’re seeing a wider range of how people are shopping this Black Friday - this could be why.”
Can you get a deal on the Apple Watch?
One of the most desired products for any tech fan is the Apple Watch but finding deals for it can be a nightmare.
We have scoured the net in an effort to find any deals for the wearable technology.
To find out if you can get deals on the Apple Watch, click here.
Store selling 30 TVs a MINUTE
Currys PC World are selling 30 TVs per minute as Black Friday prompted many to ditch the crowds in favour of online shopping with the chain recording a 3,000% increase in orders compared to last week.
As deals went live at 6am, the retailer enjoyed a record breaking peak in mobile traffic as customers picked up deals on their way to work.
And 90 per cent of customers are visiting the store’s website before making a purchase, even if they go on to buy for the item in a store.
'Bomb hoax closes market'
Manchester’s popular Christmas markets were closed down this morning after a bomb hoax.
Police and bomb squad officers shut the central Albert Square markets after a ‘drunk’ teenager called 999 saying a ‘package’ had been left at the site.
Thousands of people are expected to visit the markets today in one of the busiest shopping days of the year - Black Friday.
Police said that at 4.50am on Friday 27 November 2015, police received an abandoned 999 call regarding the Christmas Markets in Manchester city centre.
Deserted
This picture sums up how many shoppers felt about going out to stores this morning for Black Friday.
Numbers of people attending stores this morning appeared to be well down on last year.
Major stores, such as Tesco and Boots, had extra security drafted in but few people turned up.
Many experts are predicting the day will get busier later on as people seek out bargains once they have finished work.
The best TV deals
Electrical goods are always the most sought-after items on Black Friday.
While the shops have not been as busy as we all assumed they would be, online retailers are recording high levels of sales.
High am on them will be TVs and we have scouted the internet to find the best offers possible.
For all the information on where to find the best deals on TVs, click here.
What are the best deals on Amazon?
Amazon has launched some exciting deals for the next 24-hours, including kindles, kitchen appliances, beauty electricals and Xbox One bundles.
Over the course of the week, the online retail giant has revealed over 7,000 Deals of the Day from sat navs, to electric toothbrushes and Minion toys - but they’ve promised the best deals on Black Friday itself.
For more on the best deals on Amazon, click here.
DEAL ALERT! Petrol for under £1
Asda has today reduced the price of petrol to under £1 a litre - but says it has nothing to do with Black Friday.
The three-day price drop is the first time since 2009 that a litre of unleaded petrol has cost less than £1.
The supermarket has cut the price of unleaded petrol by 4p to 99.7p, meanwhile a litre of diesel will cost 103.7p.
The price drop will be in place today, Saturday and Sunday, coinciding with Black Friday flash sales across shops in the UK.
For more on the price drop - and others - click here.
All the fights so far
Black Friday in America has been very different to the UK so far today as shoppers have been caught battering each other over discounted goods.
This video shows all the major flashpoints that have occurred across the Atlantic so far.
In one shocking section, two young men can be seen throwing haymakers at one another in the middle of a mall.
Another shows a woman running up to a small child and ripping a vegetable steamer out of his hands.
The chaos that never was
After last year’s mayhem many were expecting stores to once again be swamped with eager Black Friday bargain hunters.
Asda in Wembley, north west London, was among those which saw people openly battling one another for TVs and other goods.
The retailer announced this year it would not be taking part, but others such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s were.
However, as the shutters were opened on stores across the UK hardly any were full and those who were out and about told how empty the stores were.
Our sister papers the Birmingham Mail and Liverpool Echo both reported deserted stores and shopping malls.
What is the history of Black Friday?
Black Friday has seeped into the British consciousness in the last few years but what is it all about and why is it here?
Numerous theories have circulated as to what the day is about and why it was given its title.
For the history on Black Friday, click here.
