Black Friday: Deal or No Deal?

Black Friday is approaching again. Marketed as a shoppers' paradise, for a limited period (sometimes extended to a week) retailers sell selected products at often heavily discounted prices - leading in some cases to a desperate rush to take advantage of the deals.

Newly published analysis by the UK consumer association Which? indicates however, that all may not be as it seems when looking at a large percentage of the price tags. Data for 201 home and tech products from a range of retailers' UK 'Black Friday deals' revealed that in the 6 months prior to last year's Black Friday, a startling 92 percent of advertised products were the same price or even cheaper before the "deal" while only one percent were at their cheapest on Black Friday.

There would also seem to be little need for the mad rush to take advantage of the prices if they are in fact lower than usual. As our infographic illustrates, almost every single product analysed by Which? stayed at the same price after Black Friday or even became cheaper.

As noted by Which?: "Access to deals all year round is no bad thing – but it does mean you should feel less pressured to buy on dedicated sales days like Black Friday. Take any offers described as ‘time-limited’ with a pinch of salt, as chances are it won’t be the last opportunity you get to buy at that price."