Nine out of 10 Black Friday deals last year were cheaper or the same price over the previous 12 months, a snapshot study by Which? suggests.
The watchdog warned shoppers, who spent an estimated £13.3 billion on Black Friday deals in 2023, that the “vast majority” of so-called offers were “misleading”.
The consumer group looked at deals on 227 products in last year’s Black Friday fortnight between November 20 and December 1, finding that 92% of them, all from eight of the biggest home and technology retailers, were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.
For six in 10 deals, the higher “was” price had been in place less than half the time the product was available in the year before the promotion, suggesting it was common for the product to be discounted.
It also found 14 “deals” where the higher price had not been charged once by that retailer in the previous 12 months.
Which? found Boots claiming that it had reduced a Remington Shea Soft Hair Dryer from £49.99 to £18.99 for Black Friday, or 62% off. Which? could find no evidence that it had cost £49.99 at Boots at any point in the preceding 12 months.
John Lewis claimed it was offering the Garmin Venu 2S smartwatch for £294 with a saving of £90, despite Which? Finding that it had not cost £384 at any time over the previous year. The price also did not revert to £384 in the six months after Black Friday.
The watchdog, which has carried out a similar Black Friday study for a number of years, said this was the first time that every one of the deals was available for the same or less than their price on Black Friday itself at other times of the year.
About four in 10 of the deals were cheaper at other times.
Again at John Lewis, Which? found a Sage Nespresso Creatista Pro coffee machine that “appeared to be a great deal” at £499.95, down from £699.95. However it was cheaper than this for 32 days in the six months before Black Friday, including just £479.95 four months earlier.
At Richer Sounds, a Toshiba 24WK3C63DB TV was advertised as an “inflation busting mega deal” for £139 when it had cost the same price for 80 days straight before Black Friday.
Before then, it was £10 less, at £129, and had not cost more than £139 at any point in the six months before Black Friday.
At Boots, the Oral-B iO4Electric Toothbrush and case was £89 with a claimed previous price of £240. Which? found it had cost £240 for just one day in the previous 12 months, and otherwise cost a top price of £95.
At Curry’s, the Hisense 43-inch Smart 4K TV with Amazon Alexa was reduced from £429 to £249 on Black Friday. But just 15 days after Black Friday it was reduced yet further to £229 and never went back up above its Black Friday price during the six months afterwards.
Which? noted that retailers rarely made direct claims that they were offering the very best price on Black Friday, but said shoppers could be forgiven for believing this was when the best discounts of the year were available “given the massive fanfare and marketing around the sales period”.
It urged shoppers not to feel pressured into making purchases, and instead take time to research any deals before buying.
Which? Magazine editor Harry Rose said: “Our investigation is a reminder to shoppers that they should not feel pressured to splash out on Black Friday purchases as those deals are usually repeated, if not beaten, at other times of the year.
“We want retailers to drop the sneaky pricing tactics so consumers are not misled about the deals on offer.
“When looking to make a purchase, it’s worth comparing the price at multiple retailers and checking the product’s price history using a site such as PriceRunner or CamelCamelCamel, that way you’ll know a good deal when you see one.”
A spokeswoman for Boots said: “Black Friday is a great time to pick up some of our best deals and in 2023 Boots offered discounts on over 21,000 products across the Black Friday period. Being part of that promotional programme does not exclude those lines from being on offer at other times throughout the year.
“Which? reviewed a very small number of our Black Friday deals from last year and in all cases, the items were at a lower price whilst on promotion or when price matched against competitors.”
Currys chief commercial officer Ed Connolly said: “We share Which?’s concern about poor Black Friday deals and welcome their efforts to hold the industry to higher standards.
“Today’s report is based on last year’s pricing. We have rigorously reviewed our approach to Black Friday since the publication of their report this time last year and have implemented a minimum standard rule based on a key-criteria they outlined.
“We guarantee that none of our 3,000 plus Black Friday deals will have been cheaper at any point in the last six months, a move Which? say they are pleased to see.”
A John Lewis spokeswoman said: “In a highly competitive and dynamic market, our customers can find brilliant offers with us all year round.
“But the recent return of our reimagined Never Knowingly Undersold brand promise, which matches prices with 25 leading retailers, gives customers absolute confidence that they are getting fantastic value.”
Richer Sounds said it made clear that anything marked as Fantastic Black Friday Value may have been at a lower price previously, “but still represented fantastic value”, adding “inflation-busting mega deals” were separate from Black Friday.
