Black Friday 2016: Streets deserted as shoppers go online and avoid the high streets - as it happened

Follow the latest updates here

Black Friday explained: A brief history of the famous shopping day

Welcome to the Independent’s live blog on Black Friday as the bonanza sales day kicks off..

Follow the latest updates about deals and events here:

• 'Black Friday' shoplifter stabs off-duty police officer
• Black Friday 2016: High street stores deserted as shoppers crowd online ...
• Meanwhile riots broke out over toilet rolls in a South African supermarket
• The deals and stores to watch out for
• Black Friday 2016: Five ways retailers are tricking you to buying stuff you probably don’t need
• The 7 ways to save the most amount of money on Black Friday
• Half of all Black Friday deals aren't actually deals at all, says watchdog
• How crowded are the stores? Google launches new live feature to help you choose wisely
• Patagonia to give 100% of clothing sales to climate charities
• Black Friday 2016: The best TV deals and where to get them
• Best Xbox One and PS4 deals on games and consoles
• Where to find the best fashion discounts

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Black Friday is fast becoming the best day to hunt for a bargain whether you’re in the US or the UK. In other words, it’s the best day of the year to go shopping, just as long as you’re wearing lots of protective clothing and don’t mind fighting in the aisles.

This year, many retailers including Amazon, Tesco's, and Argos already have some of their best Black Friday deals available early.

Amazon was the first horse out of the box launching Black Friday deals daily from November 14.

Sales this year are likely to top £2bn, say analysts, as shoppers hunt for bargains ahead of an expected rise in prices in 2017 due to a fall in the value of the poud following the UK vote to leave the EU.

"Obviously, with the Brexit currency movements, prices are going to go up in the first quarter of next year. The vast majority of all Black Friday offers were negotiated and in place before the Brexit vote." AO World chief executive told the BBC.

By Thursday, the discount retailing site TopCashback reported a 30 per cent increase in spending over last year.

While more than £2bn is expected to be spent on Friday alone, the total for the next four days is forecast to rise to more than £4bn once the weekend and Cyber-Monday are included.

Click here for Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

[25 November 2016 07:49 · Stuart Henderson]

Black Friday is now one of the UK's busiest shopping days.

Retailers offer up a dizzying array of special offers and big discounts, with more deals added online on Cyber Monday. But one in ten customers.

One in 10 UK consumers fear they will spend more than they can afford.

As the Black Friday bonanza sales day kicks off. , Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief at finance comparison website money.co.uk shares tips to get through the day without suffering too much financial damage. 

[25 November 2016 07:57 · Stuart Henderson]

The pattern of spending on Black Friday has evolved since Amazon imported the event to the UK in 2010. Most of the customers are now shopping online.

This year more than 500,000 people visited Argos' website in the first hour of Black Friday this morning, new chief executive John Rogers told the Today programme.

That’s up 50 per cent compared with last year.

[25 November 2016 08:02 · Stuart Henderson]

Black Friday has been known to bring out the worst in people - from violent outbursts to fight that in some cases have caused injuries.

But so far it seems unlikely to happen this year.

Emma Simpson, business correspondent at the BBC, reports from Tesco: 

[25 November 2016 08:07 · Stuart Henderson]

[25 November 2016 08:13 · Stuart Henderson]

If you're one of these customers please have a look at the link below

[25 November 2016 08:16 · Stuart Henderson]

Black Friday is known to be the best day to hunt for a bargain whether you’re in the US or the UK. The shopping blowout, which takes place on Friday, will see a whopping £2bn spent by British shoppers.

Retailers expect their shops to be filled with customers and are finding news ways to get shoppers to open their wallets.

However, consumers should beware of misleading offers and retailers tricks to make them buy products they don't really need.

Here are our tips

[25 November 2016 08:23 · Stuart Henderson]

An American outdoor company will donate 100 per cent of its Black Friday sales to grassroots climate change charities.

Read more here: 

[25 November 2016 08:35 · Stuart Henderson]

When are the peak moments for people buying from Argos on Black Friday, chief executive John Rogers is asked on BBC Radio 5

He said: "Because Black Friday is increasingly an online event, most of our shoppers will be shopping with us online... because of that we'll see a lot of people on their way to work this morning on their mobiles, looking to see what deals they can buy, so we see a big peak in demand 07:00 to 09:00 this morning, we see another peak again at lunchtime, and of course again when people get on that bus, get on that train journey to come home this evening, so another step up say between 17:00 and 18:00 - those are the busiest hours of the day."

[25 November 2016 08:45 · Stuart Henderson]

More proof that Black Friday appears to have move online this year: 

[25 November 2016 09:00 · Stuart Henderson]

Nick Bubb, independent retail analyst, gives his view on Black Friday:

Well, it remains to be seen how busy the high street will be today, but the much-dreaded “Black Friday” sale promotions this week will undoubtedly pull a lot of business forward from December, at lower margins, and it’s tempting to agree with the comment to the BBC by Peter Ruis, the boss of fashion chain Jigsaw, that Black Friday is a “complete and utter deception”…