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Friday 27 November 2015 8:01 am

Black Friday 2015 UK: Fewer fights – but also fewer deals reported by shoppers as Tesco turns away non-Black Friday bargain hunters

By: Catherine Neilan

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Bargain hunters are experiencing a less stressful Black Friday so far – but they are also reporting fewer must-have deals on sale, as retailers attempt to keep better control on things than last year. 

Last year stores including Tesco opened their doors at midnight – this year those participating in Black Friday today opened at 5am, allowing the supermarket to impose greater controls. For those customers not looking to get in on the day of deals – who are instead hoping to buy some groceries, there was bad news: they had to wait an extra two hours. 

One customer was advised that he couldn't enter the store as he wasn't "wanting to buy a TV today". A Tesco spokesperson confirmed that was official policy today.

@Tesco was delighted to discover your Corstorphine store is happy to turn away anyone not wanting to buy a TV today. Won't be back.

— Chris Brown (@busterthesailor) November 27, 2015

@busterthesailor Hi Chris, I'm really sorry about that. They open at 7am for customers who dont wish to take part in Black Friday. (1)

— Tesco (@Tesco) November 27, 2015

He wasn't the only one:

This morning Tesco tried to not let me in because they weren't sure I wasn't there for Black Friday. I just wanted to buy bagels.

— Sam McKavanagh (@MrMcKavanaghRE) November 27, 2015

Queues formed in the early hours this morning, with Tesco only allowing 10 people in store at a time. 

Take a look at the shoppers at 5am in Hanley! #Tesco #BlackFriday pic.twitter.com/CQlK1o8QNf

— Martin Tideswell (@MartinTideswell) November 27, 2015

But all that careful planning may have put people off. One shopper told the Guardian that while controls had made it safer, there were fewer deals and less excitement as a result. 

And in some parts of the country, the mood had been dampened so much that deals were going ignored, and people on Twitter got a little sarcastic about what is expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year. 

https://twitter.com/CeriOakes/status/670146322771648512

When hardly any people turned up to Tesco on Black Friday pic.twitter.com/OyIWAogYrZ

— Henderson🍀 (@Miix3RR) November 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/benjkendall/status/670105629575487488

Looking for the best bargains on Black Friday? Here's a round-up of what's on offer from retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Tesco, Sainsbury and Currys PC World today.

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