Black Friday may be over but there are still great deals to be had in the run up to Christmas

London, Thursday 30th November 2017: hotukdeals, the UK’s biggest deal-sharing community, advises consumers not to panic if they missed out on Black Friday offers as it reveals that there are still deals to be found before Christmas.

As retailers look to increase footfall and online purchases to increase sales in Q4, consumers can still find deals on a wide range of items to give as Christmas gifts or a Boxing Day treat for themselves.

Research commissioned by hotukdeals shows that the most popular Christmas gift choice, that British consumers normally purchase, are beauty and toiletries items (46%), such as perfume, and toiletry gift sets*. The second most popular gift is food and drink, including presents such as alcohol and chocolate (41%), followed by fashion items and accessories (40%) and toys (40%).

Consumers who missed out on fashion and beauty Black Friday discounts or items for children (such as toys) shouldn’t be disappointed as the highest number of deals for these categories last year were found in December. In 2016, there was a 31.2% increase in the number of fashion deals (including beauty) posted by consumers on hotukdeals (compared to November) and a 33.5% increase in the number of deals posted for items for babies and kids (including toys)**. Members of hotukdeals vote hot or cold on deals so other consumers know that the hotter the deal, the stronger the offer and in December 2016, deal-savvy shoppers voted offers in these categories as better than those in November (based on average deal heat).

Below are examples of some of the hottest deals from December 2016 in these popular gift categories as posted and rated by consumers using hotukdeals to source the best deals:

Beauty: On 13th December 2016, a deal-savvy consumer on hotukdeals posted that The Body Shop had 40% off + free delivery on a £5 spend + a free 200ml Shea Body Butter on a £10 spend (voted 2400º); Boots offered the Soap & Glory The Whole Glam Lot with vanity case for £30 (down from £60) - this deal was posted on 9th December and voted 1874º. On the 9th November, a consumer posted that Amazon was selling Davidoff Hot Water Fragrance Gift Set for £13.68 (voted 515º). For consumers looking for beauty gift ideas for this year, members of hotukdeals have spotted that from this Friday the Ted Baker 'Porcelain Rose Garden collection' will be half price (£25) at Boots. To get the best deals when shopping for gifts, shoppers should compare prices and investigate the price history of a product and check that the deal has been voted hot by consumers on hotukdeals.

Fashion and accessories: On 19th December 2016 Next offered free home delivery for one day only in time for Christmas (voted 1379º). On 21st December Costco had Pandora bracelets + three charms for £60 (voted 1182º) and on 8th December, a deal was posted for Converse up to 60% off sale, which included an extra 30% off kids or 20% off adult items + free delivery (voted 1113º).

Food and drink: Last year, The Fever Tree Ultimate Gin & Tonic Gift Set was down to £12 at Sainsbury's (deal posted on 7th December and voted 1030º). One shopper spotted the popular Ferrero Roche Collection (15 pieces/175g) at Home Bargains for £1.79 (found 18th December and voted 2805º) and Tesco had the Quality Street Limited Edition 750g Tin for £4 (deal posted on 7th December and voted 1690º).

Toys: On 13th December 2016 one consumer spotted that you could get £15 off a £50 spend at The Toy Shop/The Entertainer (voted 1725º); on the 17th December one member posted that Tesco Direct was selling Speak Out for £12.50, which was being sold for £19 at other retailers (voted 1150º) and on 7th December Toys R Us had a flash sale online between 8pm-8am with £20 off every £100 spend (voted 1268º).

Consumers looking for other Christmas gift ideas can also find good deals in December on other products. For example, last year shoppers using hotukdeals spotted that on 11th December Currys offered 10% off Sonos speakers for one day (voted 1961º); ASDA offered the PS4 500GB Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Bundle for £199 (deal posted on 12th December and voted 1837º) and John Lewis had the Amazon Fire 7 tablet for £34.95 (8GB). This deal was posted on 14th December and voted 1792º. Present ideas voted hot on hotukdeals for this year include the Nintendo Switch, which is down to £269.99 from Amazon (currently voted 935º).

hotukdeals advises consumers to keep an eye out for deals on the following dates from the retail calendar for December when shoppers may find offers from merchants***:

•    Saturday 2nd December - Small Business Saturday – Support your local, independent stores who will be encouraging consumers to shop from them.

•    Monday 4th December - Manic Monday – This is a key Christmas shopping date for consumers with deals to be found on present ideas.

•    Monday 11th December - Green Monday – According to reports, this day was invented by eBay (U.S) to describe its best sales day in December, which is usually the second Monday of December****.

•    Last online order dates for Christmas – It’s important for consumers to know when the last order dates for delivery are for their favourite retailers to ensure gifts and parcels arrive before Christmas Day. To encourage last minute spending retailers may discount or offer free delivery for a limited time around the week before Christmas, like Next did last year.

•    Saturday 23rd December – Super Saturday – The Saturday before Christmas is often the busiest as last minute shoppers cram into stores to buy gifts for their loved ones without having to worry about delivery. With footfall increasing in-store expect to see some bargains which attract last-minute shoppers.

•    Boxing Day sales - Those shopping for themselves can find bargains on fashion items and other products reduced after Christmas with deals now starting as early as Christmas Day. 

About hotukdeals: hotukdeals is the UK’s biggest deal-sharing community where users find, rate and share the best deals from on and off the high street every day to provide inspiration to others on what to buy at the best prices. Members use the temperature gauge to vote on deals so other users know that the hotter the deal, the stronger the offer. hotukdeals has over 1.6m members and is a founding member of Pepper.com, the world’s largest social commerce group.