London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Black Friday: Nine out of 10 deals are the same price or cheaper earlier in the year, investigation says

Black Friday: Nine out of 10 deals are the same price or cheaper earlier in the year, investigation says

Black Friday has become known as a day for big shopping bargains but an investigation has found that shoppers could be better off buying on almost any other day of the year.
Nine out of 10 Black Friday deals are the same price or cheaper in the six months before the day, according to an investigation.

The consumer group Which? looked at 201 of last year's Black Friday deals at six retailers - Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, and Richer Sounds.

They recorded the prices every day in the six months before and after Black Friday, and on the day itself.

They found that 184 products - 92% - were the same price or cheaper in the six months before the day, while 98.5% were cheaper or the same price at some point in the six months afterwards.

Among the items were:

• A Zanussi ZWF81441W washing machine at John Lewis - £309 on Black Friday but £249 five months earlier and £289 within a month after the day

• A Bush BRC100DHEB 100cm dual fuel range cooker from Argos - £449.99 on Black Friday but the same price 66 times before then and 19 times after

The investigation also found that many shoppers do not research the products they are going to buy before they head to the shops.

This included a third of those buying baby and child products, 26% buying home appliances, and 22% buying tech products.

Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: "Take time to identify the products you really want and check that the 'deal' you're seeing represents a genuine saving.

"That way, you can beat the hype and be confident that you'll emerge from the Black Friday sales with quality products that will last for years to come - and all for a bargain price."

Black Friday is on the first Friday after US Thanksgiving - 26 November this year - and is known for scenes of chaos in American shops as people fight for bargains.

The retailers responded:

• Amazon: "We seek to offer our customers great value thanks to low prices all year round as well as a number of fantastic seasonal deals events.

"Our Black Friday sale is about thousands of deals on a huge selection of products from every category across the site, at a time of year when we know saving money is important to our customers. And the best thing about shopping online is that customers can easily compare prices, allowing them to make an informed purchase decision."

• AO: "Customers can get deals all year round at AO and Black Friday is the biggest opportunity to get genuine, great-value deals alongside our year-round price match guarantee."

• Argos: "We're committed to offering our customers a wide range of products at great prices throughout the year and our Black Friday deals are no exception."

• Currys: "In 2020 over 98% of our Black Friday promoted products were equal to or at their cheapest price from the previous six months and 54% of our products were at their lowest ever price.

"Black Friday represents one of the best times for customers to shop with us over the year. With our unique price promise, we won't be beaten on price. Full stop. This applies even during the Black Friday period."

• John Lewis: "As a participating retailer in Black Friday, we offer fantastic deals across technology, home, beauty and fashion - these are just some of the many promotions our customers can take advantage of throughout the year."

• Richer Sounds: "Prices fluctuate pretty wildly in our industry, both up and down for all sorts of reasons, but primarily availability from suppliers and the prices we have to pay to our suppliers.

"So, this can mean that products (annoyingly for all) may be sold in the following Black Friday promotion at prices that are higher than during the preceding year but rest assured that all the deals that we sell are at the keenest prices possible at the time of the Black Friday 'event' (which, please note, starts several days before the day itself)."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×