Black Friday may be a recent phenomenon, but sales have been a part of British winter for decades – and they’ve always been regarded with suspicion by those who feel they’re above such things. I remember 70s newsreaders chuckling over footage of fights in the Boxing Day sales between women of previously good character, all desperate to grab the last half-price vacuum cleaner. How amusing, and how sad, said the newsreaders’ faces.
I don’t share their snobbery. Black Friday can save people an awful lot of money on things they’ve wanted to buy for themselves and others but have struggled to afford during the cost of living crisis. But writing about it is a tightrope. You want to offer sincere, useful shopping advice without coming across like a puppet of commerce, and that’s a tricky path to navigate.
