CHEAPER TRICK
Bargain sellers’ claims hide fact prices had been lower previously
BARGAIN-HUNTERS planning a Black Friday shopping spree are being warned the prices on offer may not be the great deals sellers claim.
Consumer watchdog Which? found nine out of 10 products in Black Friday offers were the same price or cheaper in the six months before the event.
It analysed prices at six retailers from Amazon and Argos to Currys and John Lewis and found 184 items out of 201 in last year’s extravaganza cost less or the same in the run-up to the four-day sales weekend – and even six months after it.
Above we show the Black Friday prices in red and what retailers claim they were discounted from in black.
Which? said Currys had the poorest overall record with prices, as all 32 products it tracked failed to live up to the word “bargain”. All had previously been sold at the Black Friday price.
But the research also found John Lewis had one of the worst single deals.
A Zanussi washing machine had been cheaper than its Black Friday price 88 times before the sales event. Which? found while it had been cut to £309 on Black Friday, shoppers could have snapped it up for £249 five months earlier and for £289 just a month after.
Another “dubious deal” was a Bush dual-fuel range cooker on sale at Argos.
It was knocked down from £499.99 to £449.99 but was the same price 66 times before and 19 times after Black Friday.
Worryingly, the study found a quarter of Black Friday shoppers looking for deals on electrical appliances did not do any homework beforehand.
One in three failed to research before buying baby and child products. One in five took tech offers at face value. But Which? said 98.5% of products tracked were cheaper or the same price at some stage six months after Black Friday, and 92% were the same or lower before.
A Which? spokesman said: “In some cases shoppers may be better off waiting for the price of a product to fall further.”
The consumer group is urging shoppers to do their research before being drawn in by the Black Friday hype.
Ele Clark, its retail editor, said: “Our latest investigation has shown that the vast majority of Black Friday deals are not as good as they appear to be. Take time to identify the products you really want and check that the ‘deal’ you’re seeing represents a genuine saving.”
Currys said 98% of its products were “equal to or at their cheapest price from the previous six months”, adding: “We won’t be beaten on price. This applies even during the Black Friday period.”
John Lewis said it offered “fantastic” deals for Black Friday, adding the offers highlighted by Which? were part of its “Never Knowingly Undersold” price promise “where we match high street competitors and continuously monitor prices to offer great value all year round”.
A spokesperson for Argos said: “We’re committed to offering our customers a wide range of products at great prices throughout the year.”
Amazon said its online shoppers “can easily compare prices, allowing them to make an informed purchase decision”.
And ao.com said: “Black Friday is the biggest opportunity to get genuine, great-value deals alongside our yearround price-match guarantee.”