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Black Friday: Nearly nine in 10 ‘deals’ same price or cheaper before the day

A sign 'Black Friday Sale' seen in a shop window in Dublin's city centre. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty
A sign 'Black Friday Sale' seen in a shop window in Dublin's city centre. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty

The large majority of Black Friday “deals” are the same price or cheaper before the day itself.

A new study from the consumer group Which? is urging customers to do their research, after it tracked the prices of 219 popular products advertised as ‘Black Friday deals’ across Amazon (AMZN), AO.com, Argos, Currys PC World and John Lewis (JLH.L).

It found that almost nine in 10 (85%) of these so-called ‘deals’ were actually cheaper or the same price in the six months before.

In a year’s worth of price data for products including home and tech goods such as headphones, fridge freezers and soundbars, only three (1%) out of the 219 items tracked were at their cheapest price of the year on Black Friday, according to the website.

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Currys PC World came out bottom in this study, as it was the most likely to have its Black Friday “deals” cheaper or the same price than in the preceding six months. Which? said this was the case for 47 out of 49 (96%) products.

Department store John Lewis was close on its tail, with 70 of the 78 (90%) Black Friday deals Which? tracked cheaper or the same price ahead of time.

AO had a total of 38 out of 44 (86%) Black Friday deals included in Which?’s research cheaper or the same price before the big day.

When it came to the Black Friday deals tracked at Argos, Which? found 15 out of 18 (86%) had been cheaper or the same price in the six months before Black Friday.

READ MORE: COVID-19 could set 'a generation of women' back in business

Amazon came out the best out of the retailers Which? looked at, but still had just over half (57%) of products analysed cheaper or the same price in the six months before Black Friday.

Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: “With many of us stuck at home this Black Friday it might be tempting to scour the sales for a bargain, but we’ve found that you could get the same deal – or an even better one – at another time.”

“Deals that look too good to be true often are, so don’t fall for time-limited offers and if you are looking for something in particular, do some research first. That way you’ll know a genuine bargain when you see one.”

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