It’s less than six weeks until arguably the biggest shopping event of the year: Black Friday 2023. And fashion fans looking to bag a bargain in the sales will need to be prepared in order to snap up those pieces they’ve had their eye on for the last couple of months.
This year, Black Friday falls on Friday, November 24, and traditionally, dozens of high street retailers including H&M, New Look, Marks and Spencer and River Island will hold huge sales that make for the ultimate opportunity to get some Christmas shopping locked down, or treat yourself to a festive party look.
High street favourite River Island describes the annual event as ‘one of our biggest sales in the year’ with ‘great deals that’ll make your mouth drop’. I’ve taken a look at River Island’s previous Black Friday offers to give you an idea of what to expect for 2023’s sale, as well as my top picks for the season, and things shoppers can do ahead of time to prepare for the event.
What to expect from River Island’s Black Friday sale
This time last year, River Island already had a timer counting down the days to the online event on their website – but there’s no sign of that this year so far. In 2022, Black Friday saw a tiered system where shoppers could get 15 per cent off £50 spends, 20 per cent off when they spent £85 and 25 per cent off orders over £150.
Meanwhile in 2021, the retailer slashed 20 per cent of almost everything on their site when shoppers spend over £75, which was the same for 2020 and 2018.
This year, we can certainly expect to see discounts across a range of products like coats, jackets, dresses, knitwear, tops, shoes and boots . Based on previous River Island Black Friday Sales, we should see at least 15 per cent and up to 25 per cent off sitewide, though it’s likely a spend threshold will be in place as we’ve seen in the past. I particularly like the tiered system as it means that shoppers aren’t ‘priced out’ of a discount if it’s too high. Some shoppers may not be able to – or want to – spend £75 to get a discount, but £50 is more reasonable when you know it will drop to £42.50 at the checkout.
Speaking about last year’s event, River Island described Black Friday as ‘the best day of the year for smart shoppers and bargain hunters’. The retailer added: “Over the past few years, it’s quickly become the busiest shopping day of the year, both online and in-stores so you can bag a bargain from the comfort of your own home or come visit us in person.”
Five things to do now to prepare for the River Island Black Friday sale
According to the high street fashion favourite, ‘the early bird catches that last item in your size, right?’
To make sure you don’t miss out on the pieces you’ve been longing after, there are a couple of things shoppers can do today to make sure they’re in the best position to hit ‘checkout’ come November 24.
Download the River Island app
Shoppers who download the River Island app and enable push notifications will be able to keep up to date with the latest sale drops and ‘game-changing’ back-in-stock alerts. You don’t necessarily have to shop through the app to get the deals – but having those notifications pop up on your mobile device do prove to be pretty handy.
Create an account
To ensure a smooth and speedy checkout process on Black Friday, we recommend creating a River Island account and inputting your shipping details ahead of time. You could even save your payment information if you wished, making it easier and quicker to check out without fumbling around with guest checkouts or creating an account on the day. It could be the difference between snagging that last skirt in your size and missing out entirely.
Save your faves
Once you’ve created an account, you can start adding items you love to a wishlist . Next to products on the River Island website, there’s a little heart-shaped icon and once selected, a little notification appears in the top right corner of the website. If you head here, you’ll be able to see all of your saved items.
This feature allows you to select your size and view all of your top picks ahead of the sale. On the day, you can click ‘move to basket’ and checkout quickly without having to search the website or browse multiple pages. This dress is already in my saved folder.
Sign up to the River Island mailing list
If you want to ensure you don’t miss any important updates, customers can sign up to River Island emails for sale previews, plus the lowdown on all the newest drops, brands, collabs, and trend edits.
Follow the River Island Instagram account
If you’re not a fan of browsing retailer websites and prefer to see outfits styled more organically, the River Island Instagram account could be your guide to shopping the Black Friday sale. The brand regularly shares pieces that are trending or new in, along with product codes, so if you spot something you love, you can copy the code into the River Island website, then add it to your saved list. Come Black Friday, you’ll be whizzing through the checkout.
Top picks from River Island to save for Black Friday
I recently headed into River Island to scout out the top trends and best picks for Black Friday 2023. Some of the standout styles for the season were statement jackets, and those lovely boucle-effect Massimo Dutti-esque quiet luxury numbers are still very much in, with this £60 bomber-cardigan hybrid at River Island rivalling similar from Mango .
Unsurprisingly, the colour of the season appears to be red and River Island are seriously getting in the festive spirit with this red power suit that comes as a blazer, wide leg trousers and a waistcoat , which makes for a really versatile mix and match fit. That said, I’m still very much thinking about this Red Chiffon Tie Front Swing Midi Dress, which comes in at £55. Here’s hoping I can snag it for less in the sales.
Got UGGs on your Christmas list? These Faux Fur Platform Boots , which cost £35 look strikingly similar to the UGG Ultra Mini that are £145 at John Lewis.
As seen on Loose Women star Frankie Bridge was this grey oversized bomber jacket. After sharing a snap in the £50 jacket on her Instagram stories, she said: “Bombers are back this season and with good reason! In my opinion they always give an outfit a cooler edge and I love how you can just throw it on with pretty much anything. Minimal effort, maximum style.”
And if it’s celeb-loved styles you’re looking for, the Drape Detail Shift Midi Dress from River Island, which also comes in grey, was spotted on Rochelle Humes last week, and comes in under £60.
Find more about my top picks from River Island here, and start building your Black Friday wishlist on the River Island website here.
