Black Friday rarely offers genuine bargains, new research
85% of Black Friday UK deals could be found at the same price or cheaper earlier in the year, according to research by consumer group Which?
Just 1% of the items it looked at in the six months before and after Black Friday 2019 were at their cheapest price on the day itself.
Which? crunched the numbers on 219 home and tech products advertised as Black Friday deals in 2019. It looked at Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys PC World and John Lewis for the six months before and after the event.
At least 90% of the products in Currys’ and John Lewis’s sales had been the same price or cheaper in the six months before. Which? also found that 100% of products at AO, Argos, Currys and John Lewis were cheaper or the same price after Black Friday.
You can find more on the research here.
Retailers respond
Amazon said: ‘We seek to offer our customers great value thanks to low prices all year round as well as a number of fantastic seasonal deals events.”
“Our Black Friday Sale is about thousands of deals on a huge selection of products from every category across the site, at a time of year when we know saving money is important to our customers.”
“And the best thing about shopping online is that customers can easily compare prices, allowing them to make an informed purchase decision.”
AO said: “We offer great deals for our customers all year. Last year’s Black Friday event had over 9,000 fantastic and fair offers for customers and we expect this year to be even bigger.”
Argos said: “Our Black Friday event gives customers access to hundreds of products at their lowest ever price. They may also be part of sales and promotions we run the following year.”
Currys PC World told Which? that it has thousands of deals in Black Friday every year, and aims to give customers the best value – with 45% at their lowest price ever this year.
Throughout the year it continuously price matches and holds additional sales to ensure it keeps the promise of amazing tech that is affordable and accessible.
Currys added that it’s constantly looking to bring customers the latest and most innovative tech, which means that over time, older products will generally reduce in price as they are replaced by newer technology with improved features.
John Lewis said: “As a participating retailer in Black Friday, we offer hundreds of deals across technology, home, beauty and fashion.”
“In addition to the variety of offers we have in-store and online during the promotional period, our Never Knowingly Undersold price promise means that we continuously monitor and match the prices of our high street competitors throughout the year.”
“As such, we offer our customers the best value on the high street all year round, including during the Black Friday period.”
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