Nine out of 10 Black Friday deals are the same price or cheaper in the six months before the day, according to an investigation.
The consumer group Which? looked at 201 of last year’s Black Friday deals at six retailers – Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, and Richer Sounds.
They recorded the prices every day in the six months before and after Black Friday, and on the day itself.
They found that 184 products – 92% – were the same price or cheaper in the six months before the day, while 98.5% were cheaper or the same price at some point in the six months afterwards.
Among the items were:
• A Zanussi ZWF81441W washing machine at John Lewis – £309 on Black Friday but £249 five months earlier and £289 within a month after the day
• A Bush BRC100DHEB 100cm dual fuel range cooker from Argos – £449.99 on Black Friday but the same price 66 times before then and 19 times after
The investigation also found that many shoppers do not research the products they are going to buy before they head to the shops.
This included a third of those buying baby and child products, 26% buying home appliances, and 22% buying tech products.
Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: “Take time to identify the products you really want and check that the ‘deal’ you’re seeing represents a genuine saving.
“That way, you can beat the hype and be confident that you’ll emerge from the Black Friday sales with quality products that will last for years to come – and all for a bargain price.”
Black Friday is on the first Friday after US Thanksgiving – 26 November this year – and is known for scenes of chaos in American shops as people fight for bargains.
The retailers responded:
• Amazon: “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…
Source : skynews
