Consumer group says Black Friday isn’t the cheapest time to shop

Only one in 50 Black Friday deals are at their cheapest price on the day of the sales event, according to an analysis of last year’s event by a major consumer group.

A study from what? Looking at a range of offers to 25 November 2022 it was found that only 2% were not available at the same price or cheaper within six months either side of the date.

Customers have been advised to be careful about offers and do some research before making any big purchases on Black Friday, which in recent years has been a discount day exported from the US to the UK, where it coincides with Thanksgiving. It falls on the next day.

Which one? Analyzed 208 deals at eight major home and tech retailers last year including Amazon, Argos and Currys. They looked at their prices every day in the six months before and after last year’s big sales day.

Of the 208 products, only five were cheapest on Black Friday and 98% of them were cheaper, or at the same price, in the surrounding 12 months.

Elle Clark, Retail Editor Which? The retailer said customers “shouldn’t feel pressured to splurge on Black Friday as it is rarely the cheapest time to shop”. Although “there are bargains to be found,” consumers should do their own research, he said.

Which one? To catch Cyber ​​Monday, which comes after Thanksgiving weekend, we also looked at the extended sales period from November 18 to December 2, and still found that 86% of products were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.

Which one in one of the worst examples? Found, Apple AirPods (2nd generation) headphones were discounted from £139 to £119 at both Argos and Currys. However, these products were cheaper than their Black Friday price every day between 25 May and 9 September, where the price varied between £99 and £109.

At Argos, three-quarters (75%) of products were offered on Black Friday. Analysis showed Black Friday prices were cheaper than at other times of the year. This was the highest ratio of any retailer seen by the consumer group.

Argos told the Guardian that only one product in its analysis was a Black Friday deal, while the others were part of other promotional offers. Although which one? Found that many of the Argos products included in the analysis included “Black Friday” in their online URLs and were included in a section of the retailer’s website called “Black Friday Deals and Hot Products”.

At Amazon, the Garmin Lily Sports Edition smartwatch was discounted from £199 to £149 but which one? Found it was cheaper 58 days before Black Friday, including £114.99 during the Amazon Prime Day sale, when retailers often offer significant discounts.

Amazon had the second-highest percentage of products (69%) that were cheaper than the Black Friday price at other times of the year.

Amazon said it aims to provide great values ​​throughout the year through price-matching and seasonal deal events.

Currys said: “Prices can change throughout the year… but Black Friday is still a great time to get a good deal and we always encourage our customers to take advantage of our price match guarantee at this time.”