Key lessons from Black Friday spending trends

A new study has revealed the secrets of Black Friday shopping. It found that 14 million Brits will spend £1.96 billion during Black Friday - which works out as £2,313,760 a minute. However, it also found out how we tend to spend this money, when, and what on. By studying the Black Friday spending trends, we can get ahead of the pack to land the best deals.

The first lesson is how to shop. The study, by the Centre for Retail Research and VoucherCodes.co.uk, found that the majority of shoppers will hit the high street (63%). However, they will only spend £961 million of the total. The other £1 billion will be spent online. This may be because people choose to buy big ticket items online (because they don't want to join a crush for 40 inch TVs).

However it also owes much to the fact that Black Friday shopping is far easier online. You can visit a handful of retailers, and snap up all the presents you need, in the same length of time you'd spend queuing for the tills in the first high street shop. If you have a long shopping list, therefore, it may pay to shop from home.

The second issue is when to do it. The study found that we'll be getting up early to bag a bargain online. According to Vouchercodes.co.uk, every year visits to the site peak in the morning, and each year the peak comes earlier and earlier. In 2013 it was 9.52am, in 2014 it was 8.36am, and in 2015 it was 8am. If you want to be the first to the bargains, therefore, it pays to get stuck in before the spike - which could be before 7.30am this year. If you can bear to set your alarm for 6am, it might well pay off.

Third, shoppers were also asked which items were most likely to be on sale, and their list was topped by DVDs, computer games, books, clothes, gadgets, home electronics, beauty and toys. If you have any of these items on your Christmas list, therefore, it's worth taking the time to check the Black Friday sales for discounts.

Finally, unsurprisingly, the authors of the study also highlighted that it's worth using sites like Vouchercodes.co.uk. Naturally they have a vested interest, but they also have a point.

Sites like this - along with deal hunting sites like HotUKdeals.com and latestdeals.co.uk are dedicated to ferreting out the best deals, and posting details of them online. So before you do your own legwork, it's worth checking whether someone has already done it for you and highlighted the best savings.

But what do you think? Will you be bagging a bargain or two on Black Friday? Let us know in the comments.