Black Friday is officially this Friday (29 November), but many retailers have been running Black Friday sales for several weeks already, turning the previous one-day sales event into a multi-day extravaganza. Shoppers splurged an estimated £13.3bn in Black Friday sales in 2023, according to Mintel.
But Which? has warned that many Black Friday bargains are not what they seem. The consumer champion looked at deals on 227 products in last year’s Black Friday fortnight between 20 November and 1 December.
It found nine in 10 (92%) of the deals analysed – all from eight of the biggest home and tech retailers – were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.
Products commonly discounted
Which? also examined one of key elements of Black Friday sales pricing – the credibility of the ‘was’ price used to illustrate the scale of the supposed saving.
Researchers found that for six in 10 deals, the higher price had been in place less than half the time the product was available in the year before the promotion – suggesting it was common for the product to be discounted.
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Shockingly, Which? found 14 ‘deals’ where the higher price had not been charged once at that retailer in the previous 12 months.
In one of the worst examples Which? found, a Remington Shea Soft Hair Dryer at Boots was £18.99 on Black Friday, claiming to be reduced from £49.99 – a huge 62% off. But in reality, it had never been £49.99 at Boots in the preceding 12 months.
Also at Boots, the ORAL-B iO4 Electric Toothbrush was £89, with a claimed previous price of £240. But it had been £240 for just one day in the previous 12 months. Otherwise, the highest price was £95.
At John Lewis, the Garmin Venu 2S smartwatch was priced at £294, with a claimed saving of £90. But at no point in the previous 12 months had it been on sale for £384 at John Lewis. The highest price during that period was £349.99. The price also did not revert to £384 in the six months after Black Friday.
Also at John Lewis, Which? found a Sage Nespresso Creatista Pro coffee machine that appeared to be a great deal at £499.95, down from £699.95. But it was cheaper than this for 32 days in the six months before Black Friday, including just £479.95 four months earlier.
Which? also found misleading ‘bargains’ at Richer Sounds and Currys.
Do your homework
Which? said that while there are some genuine deals to be had during the Black Friday sales, shoppers should not feel pressured into making purchases. It suggested consumers do some research into any deals before parting with their cash.
The consumer champion is calling on retailers to clean up their act on pricing, including only quoting savings against the most recent previous price. It suggested that for time-limited offers, the offer must be in place for a shorter period of time than the higher price was available.
It also called upon retailers to publish the dates the higher price applied to and be able to show that it is representative of the pricing history.
Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine, said: “Our investigation is a reminder to shoppers that they should not feel pressured to splash out on Black Friday purchases as those deals are usually repeated – if not beaten – at other times of the year.
“We want retailers to drop the sneaky pricing tactics so consumers are not misled about the deals on offer.
“When looking to make a purchase, it’s worth comparing the price at multiple retailers and checking the product’s price history using a site such as PriceRunner or CamelCamelCamel – that way you’ll know a good deal when you see one.”
