3 days ago
10
Most Black Friday deals astatine immoderate of the country's biggest retailers are cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different times of year, according to a Which? study.
In its survey of past year's Black Friday season, the user champion recovered 8 retired of 10 products were not astatine their champion price.
It tracked 175 items from 8 large retailers successful the twelvemonth to May and recovered 83% were cheaper oregon adjacent successful terms astatine slightest erstwhile extracurricular the four-week Black Friday play (15 November to 12 December).
We've outlined the findings beneath - and immoderate beauteous robust responses from the retailers involved.
Follow the latest user quality here
John Lewis was 1 of the worst culprits, with Which? uncovering 94% of products were cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different clip of year.
One illustration of an seemingly dud woody recovered astatine John Lewis was a Samsung Jet Bot Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which was £350 connected Black Friday, but had been £299 for 29 days successful May and June 2024. It was £399 for 35 days successful August to September, earlier jumping to £500 during the archetypal week of October.
At Very, Which? recovered 93% of deals were cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different clip of year.
One of the examples researchers recovered astatine the online retailer was the Dyson V11 Extra Stick Vacuum Cleaner, which was £349 during the Black Friday play - but it was the aforesaid terms connected 29 days earlier and connected 41 days aft the sale.
At AO, 85% of Black Friday deals were astatine the aforesaid terms oregon amended astatine different times of the year.
Despite promising that merchantability items would not person been cheaper successful the six months earlier Black Friday, 84% of deals astatine Currys were disposable for the aforesaid oregon a little terms successful the six months earlier and aft the income period.
Which? besides recovered that Amazon's Black Friday deals were cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms successful 88% of cases, and cheaper successful 63% of cases extracurricular the income period.
In contrast, Richer Sounds had by acold the champion show successful the analysis, with lone 55% of analysed products recovered to beryllium cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different times of the year.
The probe besides uncovered grounds of retailers seeming to usage recommended retail prices to marque a woody look much generous.
At Boots, Which? recovered an Oral B Vitality Pro Electric Toothbrush advertised arsenic "save £25, RRP £50", but the merchandise was cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms for much than 96% of the year. The £50 RRP was lone successful spot for 13 days successful the six months earlier the sale.
Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: "Our probe exposes the harsh truth: for the bulk of shoppers, Black Friday is simply a mendacious economy. Retailers are relying connected hype and urgency to propulsion products that are the aforesaid price, oregon adjacent cheaper, astatine different times of the year.
"There are bully deals to beryllium recovered but they tin beryllium fewer and acold between. Our experts sift done thousands of deals each time during the income to hand-pick genuine deals connected products we deliberation are worthy buying. Our proposal is simple: instrumentality your time, don't beryllium fooled by clever selling and bash your research."
What did retailers person to say?
Amazon said it offered customers "great worth each twelvemonth round".
"While Which? analysed conscionable 24 products, Amazon's Black Friday lawsuit offered hundreds of thousands of deals to customers successful the UK. Additionally, a study successful 2024 by Independent analysts Profitero, reviewed implicit 9,000 products and recovered that Amazon's year-round prices are connected mean 15% little than different online retailers successful the UK. Customers tin store with assurance astatine Amazon, wherever they'll find mundane debased prices crossed a wide enactment of products, each with the accelerated and convenient transportation they expect."
AO said: "Customers cognize that Black Friday is present astatine slightest a month-long promotion and isn't a azygous day. It's inactive a superb clip to bargain and gives customers the accidental to drawback up a woody up of Christmas. That shouldn't mean we can't connection beardown worth year-round excessively - arsenic these findings show, there's large deals to beryllium had astatine different times too. We invited scrutiny that helps customers marque informed choices, and our absorption remains the same, delivering large worth each time of the year, not conscionable connected Black Friday."
Read much from Money:
Dyson successful the dock implicit busted £350 instrumentality - volition its fob-off hold?
'British Airways mislaid our luggage connected imagination US roadworthy trip'
Delivery not arrived? Here's what you tin bash astir it
Currys said it was "raising the bar" with its 2025 Black Friday sale, with each woody promising to beryllium the lowest terms ever offered.
"We admit the reflection made by Which? that the terms of immoderate Black Friday products tin driblet adjacent little astatine immoderate constituent successful the months that follow. This is mean and happens crossed retailers, arsenic they compete, arsenic caller models are launched, and arsenic clearance cycles run. We are satisfied that we person the close balance, offering a Black Friday woody acceptable that is peculiar without limiting our quality to springiness customers fantabulous offers each twelvemonth round," main commercialized serviceman Ed Connolly said.
John Lewis said customers could find superb deals each twelvemonth round, and its Never Knowingly Undersold marque committedness matched prices with 25 starring retailers: "Our Black Friday connection represents a large saving, and erstwhile offers bespeak america price-matching a competitor's short-term promotion, to marque definite we stay unbeaten connected price."
The Very Group said it was committed to delivering large worth crossed its stores each twelvemonth round.
Richer Sounds said it had a disclaimer connected its website from aboriginal November until the adjacent of our Black Friday promotion to accidental that thing marked arsenic "Fantastic Black Friday Value" whitethorn person been astatine a little terms previously, but it was blessed it inactive represented fantastic value.
"Where we marked up items arsenic 'our lowest terms ever' they meant conscionable that - we'd ne'er sold an point for less. The marketplace whitethorn determination aft Black Friday and if this is the case, we volition ever look to walk immoderate other savings connected to our customers," it added.
Boots said it offered discounts connected much than 20,000 products crossed the Black Friday play past year.
"Being portion of that promotional programme does not preclude those lines from being connected connection astatine different times passim the year, arsenic we strive to present large worth for wealth for our customers each day," it added.
English (US) ·