The best Black Friday deals for 2021, all in one place

UPDATE: Oct. 21 2021, 2 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to include the latest deals and more information about Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond's Black Friday plans.

Here are the best early Black Friday deals as of Oct. 21:

• BEST ROBOT VACUUM DEAL: Shark EZ Robot Self-Empty — $299.99 (save $200)

• BEST TV DEAL: TCL 55-inch 4-Series 4K UHD Smart TV — $298 (save $150)

• BEST SMART HOME DEAL: Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance A19 LED Starter Kit — $139.99 (save $50)

• BEST KITCHEN DEAL: Bella Pro Series 8-qt. Digital Air Fryer —$49.99 (save $80)

• BEST APPLE DEAL: Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro (WiFi, 256GB) — $999 (save $200)

• BEST GAMING DEAL: NBA 2K22 for Playstation 5 —$49.99 (save $20)

Did it hurt? When you realized we've entered our second pandemic holiday shopping season?

Ready or not, Black Friday is coming

Yes, stores are already cramming your inbox with early Black Friday deals. Yes, it's only mid-October. It may seem a bit preemptive, like those neighbors whoinsiston putting up their Christmas decorations before the leaves fall, but they actually have a very good reason to get a jump on this year's sales. (No, it's not just a good, old-fashioned cash grab in response to some strong holiday spending forecasts.)

Three words: Supply chain chaos.

Under circumstances absolutely no one had on their bingo card, pickles and paper bags have gotten as elusive as Playstation 5s. Blame the Delta variant, which continues to inflame pandemic-related material scarcities, labor shortages, and delivery delays across industries of all kinds. Unsurprisingly, this ordeal has left manufacturers and retailers scrambling; Walmart, Home Depot, and Ikea have actually gone so far as to charter private cargo ships to make sure their shelves are stocked for the holidays.

As such, finding the best deals this Black Friday will be a question of availability more so than price.

"There will always be sales, but they won’t be as deep and as plentiful," Bain & Company's Aaron Cheris told CNBC last month. (He's the head of the consulting firm's Americas Retail practice.) "As a retailer or a brand, I don’t have the same motivation when I know I’m going to stock out."

Since planning ahead will be your best defense against backorders and "sold out" notices, we're rolling out our Black Friday coverage way earlier than usual this year. (The early bird gets the Nintendo Switch bundle, so to speak.) We'll be updating this post with the best deals as sales start to pop up — in the meantime, here are all the must-know details you'll need ahead of time.

We'll find the best deals so you don't have to. Credit: Vicky Leta / Mashable

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is a shopping holiday that takes place every year on the day right after Thanksgiving. It used to be synonymous with viral fistfights and stampedes and lines that stretched around city blocks before 3 a.m., but COVID-19 has turned it into a mostly online event.

When is Black Friday?

While Black Friday proper falls on Nov. 26 this year, several stores have already begun trickling out their holiday doorbusters.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday — what's the difference?

The National Retail Federation officially coined the term "Cyber Monday" in 2005 after it noticed that in previous years, the Monday after Thanksgiving saw a massive uptick in online sales. It credited the phenomenon to two factors: Online retailers were starting to vie for a piece of the Black Friday pie, and shoppers were waiting to peruse the deals on their faster work computers come Monday morning. (At the time, office PCs had better broadband than home setups.)

Last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales effectively bled together since in-person shopping wasn't really a thing. We'll almost certainly see that repeat this coming November.

What stores will be open for in-person shopping this Black Friday, if any?

Most major retailers' Black Friday hours are still TBD, but we already know that Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohl's, and Bed Bath & Beyond will close their doors on Thanksgiving Day. (That's another big change from pre-pandemic years, when many stayed open on the federal holiday so that eager shoppers could get a jump on their best deals.) If you feel the urgent need to do some post-pie shopping that day, you'll have to crack open your laptop instead.

Don't forget to order a little something nice for yourself this year. You earned it. Credit: Mashable Illustration

Here are the best deals at each retailer

Amazon: Starting Oct. 4, Amazon is dropping "Black Friday-worthy deals" every day in the leadup until the actual holiday. Find out what's up for grabs by visiting its Epic Daily Deals page, installing its mobile app, or by asking your smart home device, “Alexa, what are my deals?” The last time we checked, its best offers included a $150 discount on an M1-equipped MacBook Pro, a 33% savings on an Echo Show 8/Blink Mini bundle, and $100 off the fancy over-ear AirPods Max. Select Samsung TVs, tablets, appliances, and wearables were also enjoying some heavy discounts on the site as part of a random Samsung Week sale that runs through Oct. 31.

Bed Bath & Beyond: Members of the retailer's Beyond+ program will receive early access to its Black Friday offers. (Join anytime through Oct. 31 and you'll receive a $29 bonus card, which is basically like getting the $29 membership fee back.) Check back later for deals!

Best Buy: The electronics store has announced that it's offering multiple Black Friday sales this year, beginning with a four-day sale from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 featuring "hundreds" of discounts on must-have tech. (Its official Black Friday sale will also start a whole week early on Nov. 19, but everything is covered by a "Black Friday Price Guarantee" tag no matter when you shop.) At the time of writing, highlights from that first sale included a $101.99 discount on the Sony WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones, $250 off the self-emptying iRobot Roomba i7+, and $250 off a 70-inch LG 4K smart TV that includes a free 30-day trial of FuboTV.

Dell: Check back later for deals!

Kohl's: The department store is running a five-day Lowest Prices of the Season Event from Oct. 20 to Oct. 24 ahead of its official Black Friday sale (which will see the return of its excellent $15 for $50 Kohl’s Cash offer on select days). This "first look" sale features a $120 discount on a Shark stick vacuum and savings of up to 30% on select Ninja kitchen appliances, among other great deals on home goods, apparel, luggage, and more —plus, shoppers will earn $5 in Kohl’s Cash for every $25 they spend.

Macy's: The mall stalwart will kick off its Black Friday sale on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Check back later for deals!

Target: The bullseye brand doesn't have anything on the calendar in the wake of its Deal Days event (which ended Oct. 12), but feel free to keep shopping there anyway: Its holiday price match policy is now in effect through Dec. 24, and you can also take advantage of two new "buy now, pay later" payment options through Sezzle and Affirm. Check back later for deals!

Walmart: The big box store has confirmed the return of its popular "Black Friday Deals for Days" in November. The monthlong sale will be divided into three different events that begin on its website, with the same deals continuing in Walmart stores. (Worried something on your list will sell out? Join Walmart+ — paying members will receive online access to those holiday offers four hours earlier than everyone else, as a treat.) Like Target, Walmart has also nixed layaway in favor of a new "buy now, pay later" program as part of its partnership with Affirm. Can't-miss early rollbacks include $150 off the Echelon Connect exercise bike, $100 off the Dyson V8 Fluffy, $200 off the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 256GB of storage, and a $40 discount on the Roku Ultra that beats its Prime Day deal by $10.

Best tech deals

Apple's premium over-ear headphones have never been as cheap as they are right now. Credit: Apple

Acer: Save up to 20% on select laptops.

Alienware: Get 29% off the Alienware 25 gaming monitor.

Amazon Echo: Save $35 on the first-gen Echo Show 5 and get $30 off the second-gen Echo Show 8. (Plus, save 33% when you bundle the latter with a Blink Mini.) A handful of used Amazon Echo devices are also 20% off.

Amazon Fire tablets: Save 25% when you buy two Fire Kids tablets.

Amazon Fire TV: Take 30% off the third-gen Fire TV Stick (now $27.99) and save 21% on the Fire TV Cube (now $94.99).

Apple: Take $100 off the AirPods Max, 25% off the new Magsafe Battery Pack, $70 off the PRODUCT(RED) Apple Watch Series 6, $200 off the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (256GB), and up to $150 off MacBooks with the M1 chip on Amazon. Plus, save up to $1,000 on the all-new iPhone 13 with a trade-in and qualified activation with Verizon via Best Buy.

Arlo: Get up to 17% off Arlo security cameras and systems.

Beats: Save $180 on the Studio3 wireless noise-canceling headphones (now $169.99).

Dyson: Save $100 on the V8 Fluffy cordless vacuum (now $299.99).

Jabra: Take 47% off the Elite 75t Active noise-canceling in-ear headphones (now $79.99).

JBL: Save up to 40% on select JBL Tune headphones.

Kindle: Save up to 44% on Amazon's popular e-readers.

Lenovo: Save $200 on the 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (now $749.99) and $220 on the Lenovo IdeaCentre 27-inch Touch-Screen All-In-One Desktop (now $879.99) at Best Buy.

LG: Take $250 off the 70-inch Class UP8070 SeriesLED 4K smart TV (now $749.99) and get a free 30-day trial of FuboTV.

Philips: Get $50 off the Hue White & Color Ambiance A19 LED Starter Kit (now $139.99).

Roku: Save $40 on the Roku Ultra (now $59).

Samsung: Take $30 off the new Galaxy Watch 4, get up to 39% off select Samsung TVs (including The Frame), save 33% on the Galaxy Buds+, and score discounts of up to 35% on select Galaxy Tabs during a special Samsung Week sale on Amazon.

Sennheiser: Get up to 50% off its headphones (starting at just $19.95).

Sony: Take 29% off the Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headphones (now $248) and up to 39% off its family of BRAVIA X90J 4K smart TVs.

TCL: Save $150 on its 55-inch 4-Series 4K smart TV (now $298) and get $250 off its 55-inch 6-Series Mini-LED 4K smart TV (now $699.99).

Best robot vacuum deals

Robot vacuums: Because no one's ever sat on their deathbed wishing they'd spent more time cleaning. Credit: Bissell

Bissell: Save $100 on the SpinWave Wet and Dry Robotic Vacuum (now $299.99).

eufy: Take 67% off the RoboVac G30 Verge (now $149) and 37% off the RoboVac 15C MAX (now $175.99).

iRobot: Save $250 on the self-emptying Roomba i7+ (now $549.99).

Shark: Save $200 on the Shark EZ Robot Self-Empty (now $299.99), get $80 off the bestselling Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL (now $469.99), and take $55 off the Shark Ion Robot 750 (now $144).

Best kitchen deals

Nobody's doing it like Le Creuset. Credit: Le Creuset

Bella: Save $80 on the 8-quart Bella Pro Series digital air fryer (now $49.99).

Instant Pot: Get 25% off the 6-quart Duo Plus (now $89.95) and 44% off the Air Fryer Lid attachment (now $49.95).

Keurig: Save $30 on the K-Latte single-serve coffee maker at Best Buy (now $59.99) —plus, get $25 in Kohl's Cash when you buy a K-Select machine on sale at Kohl's for $129.99 (a $20 savings).

Le Creuset: Take 40% off the French brand's 3.5-quart Sauteuse (now $179.95).

Ninja: Save up to 30% on select Ninja appliances at Kohl's; you'll earn $5 in Kohl's Cash for every $25 you spend.

Best house and home deals

Tuft & Needle makes some of Mashable's favorite beds-in-a-box. Credit: Tuft & Needle

Amazon: Save up to 30% on select bedroom and office furniture.

Tuft & Needle: Take 10% off select mattresses.

Best fitness deals

Peloton whomst? Credit: Echelon

Echelon: Save $150 on the Connect Sport exercise bike and get a free 30-day Echelon United membership (a $40 value).

NordicTrack: Get $700 off the Commercial 2950 Treadmill, $450 off the GX 2.7 U Exercise Bike, $600 off the RW200 Rower, and $200 off the RW500 Rower.

ProForm: Take $603.01 off the Carbon T10 Treadmill (now $799.99 — it usually retails for $1,403 on the company's website).

Best gaming deals

"Though the game takes a few hours of play to hit its stride, 'Valhalla' is by far the best 'Assassin’s Creed' title of this era," Mashable entertainment reporter Alexis Nedd wrote last year. Credit: Ubisoft

2K: Get 29% off NBA 2K22 for Playstation 5 (now $49.99) —that's its highest discount to date.

EA: Save up to 80% on select digital titles for Xbox, including Madden NFL 22 and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

JBL: Take up to 25% off its Quantum line of gaming headsets.

Turtle Beach: Save 50% on the Recon 200 multiplatform gaming headset (now $29.99).

Ubisoft: Save up to 80% on select digital games, including Immortals Fenyx Rising and the Gold and Ultimate Editions of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.

Best toy deals

Scoot scoot! Credit: Hover-1

Hover-1: Get $50 off the Comet Kids electric scooter (now $98).

KidKraft: Take 23% off the multi-level Ainsley play/swing set (now $299).

LEGO: Save $9.99 on the Classic Bricks on a Roll set (now $20).

L.O.L. Surprise!: Save $30 on a six-pack of Bling Series dolls (now $40).