Black Friday: Shoppers warned most offers are not cheaper

Shoppers searching for Black Friday bargains are being warned that astir deals bash not connection genuine discounts.

Analysis of much than 200 offers past Black Friday recovered 98% were cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different times successful the year, user radical Which? said.

The informing comes arsenic the fig of radical hitting UK shops this Black Friday is forecast astatine 12.8% higher than 2021, retail experts Springboard said.

Many are nether other unit to marque savings arsenic the outgo of surviving rises.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest dates successful the retail calendar. Previous years person seen a buying frenzy featuring agelong queues, bare shelves and scenes of customers warring implicit the past chopped terms tv set.

This twelvemonth prices are rising astatine their fastest complaint successful implicit 40 years prompting Christmas shoppers to hunt for savings. But Which? warned that Black Friday was "rarely the cheapest clip to shop".

It analysed 214 Black Friday deals past twelvemonth astatine 7 large location and tech retailers - Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Very. It looked astatine their prices each time successful the six months earlier and aft the merchantability time which was 26 November 2021.

Out of the deals analysed, Which? recovered 183 oregon 86% were cheaper oregon the aforesaid arsenic their Black Friday terms successful the six months earlier the income event.

Some 209 deals oregon 98% were cheaper oregon the aforesaid terms astatine different times successful the year. None were cheaper connected Black Friday alone.

It recovered that astatine section store John Lewis, an £869 Bosch fridge was £20 cheaper aft the Black Friday merchantability and remained truthful until the adjacent year.

John Lewis's spokesperson said the offers successful Which?'s probe were portion of its Never Knowingly Undersold terms lucifer pledge, which has present been retired.

Which? besides recovered that immoderate retailers temporarily raised prices of goods conscionable earlier Black Friday, truthful they would look discounted by the clip the income time arrived.

It recovered that a £279 Toshiba TV astatine online retailer Very included a £100 discount connected Black Friday. But the TV was lone priced astatine £379 for 3 days successful the period earlier Black Friday.

Which? named Amazon and Very arsenic "the worst retailers wide for dubious discounts". It recovered much than 70% of products included successful its investigation were cheaper astatine different times of the twelvemonth compared to their Black Friday price.

Amazon said it offered debased prices each twelvemonth circular arsenic good arsenic a fig of seasonal deals events.

"Our Black Friday merchantability offers thousands of deals from each class crossed the tract astatine a clip of twelvemonth erstwhile we cognize redeeming wealth is important to our customers," an Amazon spokesperson said. The BBC has approached Very for comment.

Which? retail exertion Reena Sewraz said uncovering a bully woody connected Black Friday was similar looking for a needle successful a haystack.

She added: "It's seldom the cheapest clip to store and you'll astir apt find the things you privation are the aforesaid terms oregon cheaper arsenic we caput towards Christmas, the New Year and beyond."

Argos said that its Black Friday deals were "no exception" to its "great prices" passim the year, whilst online retailer AO told Which? that its Black Friday deals were "but 1 portion of the galore deals" they offered passim the year.

Audio and video retailer Richer Sounds said manufacturers often had excess banal near implicit aft income which they request to sell, truthful kept the prices of those items debased for overmuch of the remainder of the year.

Impulse tin often beryllium the force of your finances - particularly during the run-up to the festive season.

Whether it is getting a bully deal, oregon protecting yourself from scams, determination is usually merit successful stepping backmost and considering what you are doing, particularly erstwhile buying online.

Fraudsters exploit immoderate benignant of frenzy, specified arsenic request for discounts, oregon shortages of a peculiar product.

An astonishing £100m a period is mislaid to fraud. Experts impulse radical to instrumentality their time, ticker retired for bogus websites, and guarantee sellers are genuine. The Take Five run has immoderate basal advice.

Patience is besides cardinal erstwhile deciding whether you person the fund for what you mightiness see a bully deal. Advisers accidental "money in" your relationship should beryllium the archetypal consideration, alternatively than "money off" the price. The user radical Which? has a guide connected shopping during Black Friday and beyond.

The fig of radical mounting retired to hunt for bargain successful shops crossed the UK is expected to beryllium higher this year, according to Springboard.

UK buying centres are acceptable to spot 16% much customers than 2021 - though overall, shot is expected to inactive beryllium beneath pre-pandemic levels, it said.

Springboard added that UK precocious streets would spot a 13.2% bump successful footfall compared with past year.

Meanwhile, scams emergence by a 3rd astir Black Friday, according to investigation by Lloyds Bank, with astir fraud connected with apparel purchases.

The slope said the measurement of scams soared by 29% astir Black Friday and Cyber Monday successful 2021.

"Fraudsters usage societal media to station scam offers. They tin adjacent nonstop them consecutive to your inbox. Always hunt for deals yourself," Lloyds Bank warned.