Black Friday 2022 is just around the corner (25 November) but once again we've found that those tempting Black Friday prices aren't always the deal they're cracked up to be.
Which? compared tens of thousands of prices from before and after Black Friday 2021 to reveal the truth behind the sales.
Our research shows a shocking 98% of Black Friday 2021 deals were cheaper or the same price at other times of the year. So while there are some deals to be had, genuine discounts are often few and far between.
With the mammoth sales event less than 72 hours away, Which? is urging customers not to fall for the hype without carefully examining whether items are really worth buying and that the ‘discounted’ price offers a genuine saving.
Black Friday 2021 in numbers
We analysed 214 of last year’s Black Friday deals at seven major home and tech retailers – Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Very – looking at their prices every day in the six months before and after the sale day (26 November 2021).
We found a massive 98% were cheaper or the same price at other times of the year.
Out of the deals analysed Which? found 183 (86%) were actually cheaper or the same as their Black Friday price in the six months before the sales event and 209 (98%) were cheaper or the same price at other times in the year. None were cheaper on Black Friday alone.
While you might expect prices to fall over time, 86% of products in our analysis were actually cheaper or the same price in the six months before the sale day itself, meaning those advertised savings may not have been the great deals they suggested.
- 98% of products were cheaper or the same price at other times of the year
- 86% of products were cheaper or the same price in the six months prior to Black Friday 2021
- 98% of products were cheaper or the same price in the six months after Black Friday 2021
- 46% of products were cheaper at other times of the year compared to Black Friday 2021
In fact, none of the products we looked at were at their cheapest price of the year on Black Friday 2021.
Even when including discounts applied in the two-weeks around the big day, to take account of Cyber Monday sales, we found that 87% of discounted products had a lower or equal price at another time.
- Find out more: how to avoid fake Black Friday deals
Deals not worth the hype
We found some deals that stood out from the crowd - but not in a good way.
- A Zanussi chimney cooker hood was £239 on Black Friday 2021 at John Lewis, with a £30 saving. But it had been the same price since 9 November, and was reduced to £160 for a fortnight in August. It only increased to £269 on 13 October, according to our data, so that £30 saving really wasn’t as good as it looked.
- An integrated Bosch fridge at John Lewis was on sale on Black Friday last year for £869 but dropped in price by £20 less than a week later. It stayed at the lower price every day until 23 February 2022.
- A Leisure freestanding electric range cooker at AO was available for £969 on 26 November 2021 with a £30 saving. But it remained at this price until 23 December 2021, when it dropped further. It didn’t return to above the pre-Black Friday price until February 2022.
- The Toshiba 43UL2163DBC TV was £279 at Very on Black Friday last year, with a claimed £100 saving. But we found it had been £379 for just three days in the month before Black Friday. It stayed at £279 until 22 December 2021, when it dropped further to £275.
All of the big-name retailers we looked at had offered the vast majority of products in their so-called Black Friday sales cheaper or the same price in the six months before Black Friday. For AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis and Very this applied to every single product in our analysis.
- Find out more: top 15 shopping tips for Black Friday
What the retailers say
We approached the seven retailers included in our investigation with our findings. All, apart from Currys and Very who didn’t respond, said that Black Friday is a key time for deals but is just part of efforts to offer savings through the year.
An Amazon spokesperson 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 offers thousands of deals from every category across the site at a time of year when we know saving money is important to our customers.’
A John Lewis spokesperson told us that the offers in our research were as a result of its Never Knowingly Undersold price-match pledge which applied until the scheme was retired in August. A spokesperson told us that John Lewis is investing £500m - 25% higher than last year - so customers can benefit from great quality and value, whether they shop in store or online.
Richer Sounds told us that it recognises that the rules around ‘was’ pricing can be unclear to consumers, and that it has launched a Pricing Charter in view of this. It said that pricing after Black Friday can fluctuate as manufacturers may have excess stock to shift, or other determining factors in the market means that some prices stay low. The tech retailer said that Black Friday remains one of the key times of the year in the retail calendar, and consumers can generally expect to pick up great deals.
- Find out more: best tech retailers as rated by thousands of customers
Which?'s top tips for shopping this year's sales
Don’t impulse buy – Work out what you need or want to buy and how much you’re prepared to spend before you start shopping in the sales.
Don’t panic – Don’t worry about missing out on a good offer as our research has revealed that you could be better off waiting until after Black Friday anyway.
Do your research – Look at the price on previous days, using sites such as PriceRunner, to make sure you really are getting a good deal.
Be careful with reviews – It's always worth checking product reviews before choosing what to buy, but make sure you use a trusted source such as Which? to avoid being caught out by fake reviews.
Don't be afraid to hit the shops – As long as you have a data connection on your smartphone you can be in Currys and on Amazon at the same time. Having access to websites means you can reference prices to make sure you're getting the best deal in store.
Know your rights – For those buying in store, check the returns policy as these vary. Buying online gives consumers more rights: depending on the goods they buy, they usually have 14 days from the date of delivery to cancel an order and a further 14 days to return it for a refund.
- Find out more: the best Balck friday deals live now
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/98-of-black-friday-deals-werent-worth-buying-last-year-aoIJw3j40Sou