Click Fast or Cry Trying: A Very British Black Friday Tale

Ah, November in the UK - when fireworks fade, the John Lewis advert appears to collective national sighing, and consumers collectively decide that patience is a virtue worth exactly 15% off plus free shipping. Yes, it’s the annual ritual of holding out for that elusive Black Friday discount code, the sacred string of letters and numbers that promises to make your purchase feel like a heist. It’s that special time of year when perfectly sensible adults hover over “Buy Now” like it's a detonator, convinced that any moment a magical discount code will descend from retail heaven and save them £4.73. Shoppers refresh websites with the dedication usually reserved for tracking football scores…

But once that mythical voucher code finally shows up - in an email you nearly deleted thinking it was spam - the entire nation lunges at the checkout button at precisely the same moment. Overnight, delivery estimates shift from “arrives tomorrow” to “sometime before spring, hopefully.” And that’s assuming the item isn’t instantly labelled out of stock, which is retail-speak for “Carpe diem, love. Should’ve clicked when you had the chance.” It’s the consumer equivalent of missing the last tube by two seconds.

And the chaos doesn’t stop with late parcels. No, the ripple effect spreads across the land like a dodgy Wi-Fi signal. Sports clubs suddenly realise they’ve no medals for presentation night because everyone held out for a Black Friday deal that arrived too late - and now the trophies are stuck in a depot in Slough. Corporate awards ceremonies end up handing out stand-in “Well Done!” printouts because the engraved glass awards are delayed till January. Even schools aren’t spared. Little Amelia wins “Pupil of the Term,” only to receive a polite verbal acknowledgement because the plaque is backordered and somewhere between Leicester and oblivion.

So perhaps this year we Brits adopt a new mantra: Carpe Discountem… but also, Carpe Right-Now-um. Because there’s a thin, perilous line between being financially savvy and being the person explaining to a roomful of parents, employees, or pupils that the awards are “on their way.” Snag the bargain if you must - but for the love of all things next-day delivery, maybe don’t wait till the entire country hits “Add to Basket” at exactly 00:01 on Black Friday.

But having said all of that…watch out as our Black Friday code will be hitting your inbox VERY soon - and we'll do our very best to get it to you in the fastest time possible!