Air fryers, coffee machines and stand mixers: buy now or wait for Black Friday?

Air fryers, coffee machines and stand mixers are among the most heavily promoted items every Black Friday, which falls on 27 November this year. Some are already reduced. We checked prices at John Lewis on 1 November to see what you'd pay now, and looked at the evidence on whether waiting pays off. Prices change often, so check them again before you buy.

At a glance

• Cheapest air fryer we found: Philips 1000 Series NA130/09 at £49.99.
• Biggest current cut: Kenwood kMix KMX751 stand mixer at £180, shown as was £359.99.
• Coffee from £99: De'Longhi Stilosa EC260 manual espresso machine.
• Running cost: electricity averages 26.32p per kWh under Ofgem's cap from 1 October to 31 December 2026.
• Waiting rarely pays: Which? found 94% of John Lewis products it tracked were the same price or cheaper outside the Black Friday period.

Air fryers

Prices at John Lewis when we checked:

• Philips 1000 Series NA130/09: £49.99
• John Lewis AF9006T-GS: £79
• Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB XXL: £79.99
• Ninja AF140 Air Fryer Pro: £89.99
• Ninja DualZone XL DZ901UK, 9.5L: £159.99, shown as was £239.99
• Ninja DualZone DZ801UK, 7.6L: £209.99

The DZ901UK is the only one in this list showing a reduction. A two-drawer model lets you cook two things at once, which matters more for a family than for one or two people. Ninja, Currys and AO also sell many of these. Currys and AO started their Black Friday sales on 28 October, running until 1 December.

Coffee machines

• De'Longhi EC260 Stilosa manual espresso: £99
• Nespresso Vertuo Next ENV120.W by De'Longhi: £149
• Philips Series 2200 EP2220/10 bean to cup: £329.99
• Sage Bambino: £330
• Sage Barista Express: £479.95 to £499.95, depending on colour
• Sage Barista Touch: £799.95, shown as was £1,049

A pod machine is cheapest to buy but you're tied to its pods. A bean-to-cup machine costs more up front, but beans can work out cheaper per cup than pods. Work out how many cups you drink a week before deciding.

Stand mixers

• Kenwood Chefette stand and hand mixer: £99.99
• Kenwood kMix KMX751: £180, shown as was £359.99
• Bosch CreationLine MUM59340GB 7-in-1: £199.99, shown as was £299.99
• Bosch Series 4 MUM58W20GB 5-in-1: £279.99
• KitchenAid Artisan 5.6L: £599, shown as was £748 to £749

Three of these already show a reduction. If you've had your eye on a KitchenAid, £150 off is already on the table.

What it costs to run: a worked example

This is an illustration. Ofgem's average direct debit electricity rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kWh. Say your air fryer is rated at 1,500 watts and you run it for 20 minutes. That's 0.5 kWh, or about 13p. If it ran at full power for 20 minutes five times a week, that's about 66p a week, or roughly £34 over a year. In practice the element cycles on and off once it's hot, so you'll often use less. Check the wattage on your model's label to work out your own figure.

Compare that with the price gap between models. Paying £159.99 rather than £209.99 for a large two-drawer fryer saves you £50, which is more than a year's electricity on the sums above.

Buy now or wait?

Which? tracked 175 home and tech products for a year around the 2024 sale and found 83% were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the four-week Black Friday period. For John Lewis the figure was 94%, AO 85% and Currys 84%. So if you see a fair price now, there's little reason to wait. If a "was" price looks inflated, the CMA can now fine retailers directly for misleading pricing under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

What to do now

1. Pick the size and type first. One-drawer or two, pod or beans, tilt-head or bowl-lift.
2. Note today's price for the exact model number, so you can spot a real drop later.
3. Check price promises such as John Lewis's Price Promise and Currys' Black Friday Price Guarantee, and their deadlines.
4. Look up the wattage to estimate running costs.
5. Keep the box for 14 days. Online buys can usually be cancelled within 14 days of delivery under the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

Questions

Are air fryers cheaper to run than an oven?

For small amounts of food they usually are, because they're smaller and heat up quickly. For a full tray of food, the difference shrinks.

Is the "was" price real?

It should be a price the shop genuinely charged. If you think it wasn't, you can report it to the CMA or Citizens Advice.

What if the price drops after I buy?

Ask the shop. Some will refund the difference under a price promise. If you bought online and are within 14 days, you can also cancel and rebuy.

Sources: John Lewis: air fryers, John Lewis: coffee machines, John Lewis: stand mixers, Ofgem: price cap unit rates, Which?: Black Friday price research, MoneySavingExpert: Black Friday sale tracker, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

Ad: affiliate links. The codes and deals below link to the stores, and we may earn a commission if you buy, at no cost to you. How we make money.