We've finally worked out the smart way to do Black Friday

Black Friday in 2014 was a chaotic disaster, with pictures of people scrapping over massive TVs going viral. Two years later, however, and something incredible has happened - we seem to have cracked Black Friday.

There are five secrets we now know about Black Friday, which means we can take a far smarter approach.

See also: Half of Black Friday shoppers expect a deal

See also: Black Friday consumers should know their rights, says Which?

See also: Top laptop deals for Black Friday 2016

1. A person only needs so many huge TVs
There are some very common sights at a Black Friday sale nowadays - giant TVs, blenders, coffee makers, hoovers and last-season's gadgets. In the first year we were very excited by all of them. Nowadays the kinds of shoppers who can't resist a bargain have already snapped one up, so when we see a big pile of 40-inch TVs we're more likely to have a long think about whether it meets our needs than we are to try to wrestle a couple into a trolley in a panic.

2. It's not worth getting hurt
This morning started with very few queues, because people couldn't face the thought of getting an elbow in the face in their pursuit of bargains. During the day, footfall at the shops has picked up, and plenty of people are bagging deals, it's just that far fewer of them are ending up in A&E.

3. These deals aren't going anywhere
Retailers have been offering deals for days, and will continue to offer plenty over the weekend and into the beginning of next week, so we can take our time. It means there's time for price comparison, sensible consideration, and clever bargain-hunting.

4. Other people will do the bargain-hunting for us
The voucher and deal hunting websites are reporting record traffic, because rather than plunging straight onto retailer websites, we check out the bargains that other people (who have been online since midnight) have managed to track down for us. The deals AOL has been digging out have also proved useful for thousands of shoppers.

5. Black Friday can actually be fun
There are some early signs that Black Friday is becoming a leisure activity. Premier Inn has reported a surge in hotel room sales, and says the latest trend is to combine our quest for bargains with a city break. The destinations in most demand over this weekend are Salford, Birmingham, York, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast - all brilliant shopping destinations with plenty of festive attractions on offer too.

Those who have bought into the idea of Black Friday are finally discovering it can be an enjoyable way to save a fortune on your Christmas shopping. Now the challenge is to keep this information quiet, so that those who are boycotting Black Friday don't get stuck in and spoil all the fun.