Most Black Friday deals at some of the country’s biggest retailers are cheaper or the same price at other times of year, according to a Which? study.
In its study of last year’s Black Friday season, the consumer champion found eight out of 10 products were not at their best price.
It tracked 175 items from eight major retailers in the year to May and found 83% were cheaper or equal in price at least once outside the four-week Black Friday period (15 November to 12 December).
We’ve outlined the findings below – and some pretty robust responses from the retailers involved.
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John Lewis was one of the worst culprits, with Which? finding 94% of products were cheaper or the same price at another time of year.
One example of an apparently dud deal found at John Lewis was a Samsung Jet Bot Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which was £350 on Black Friday, but had been £299 for 29 days in May and June 2024. It was £399 for 35 days in August to September, before jumping to £500 during the first week of October.
At Very, Which? found 93% of deals were cheaper or the same price at another time of year.
One of the examples researchers found at the online retailer was the Dyson V11 Extra Stick Vacuum Cleaner, which was £349 during the Black Friday period – but it was the same price on 29 days before and on 41 days after the sale.
At AO, 85% of Black Friday deals were at the same price or better at other times of the year.
Despite promising that sale items would not have been cheaper in the six months before Black Friday, 84% of deals at Currys were available for the same or a lower price in the six months before and after the sales period.
Which? also found that Amazon’s Black Friday deals were cheaper or the same price in 88% of cases, and cheaper in 63% of cases outside the sales period.
In contrast, Richer Sounds had by far the best performance in the analysis, with only 55% of analysed products found to be cheaper or the same price at other times of the year.
The investigation also uncovered evidence of retailers seeming to use recommended retail prices to make a deal appear more generous.
At Boots, Which? found an Oral B Vitality Pro Electric Toothbrush advertised as “save £25, RRP £50”, but the product was cheaper or the same price for more than 96% of the year. The £50 RRP was only in place for 13 days in the six months before the sale.
Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: “Our research exposes the harsh truth: for the majority of shoppers, Black Friday is a false economy. Retailers are relying on hype and urgency to push products that are the same price, or even cheaper, at other times of the year.
“There are good deals to be found but they can be few and far between. Our experts sift through thousands of deals every day during the sales to hand-pick genuine deals on products we think are worth buying. Our advice is simple: take your time, don’t be fooled by clever marketing and do your research.”
What did retailers have to say?
Amazon said it offered customers “great value all year round”.
“While Which? analysed just 24 products, Amazon’s Black Friday event offered hundreds of thousands of deals to customers in the UK. Additionally, a report in 2024 by Independent analysts Profitero, reviewed over 9,000 products and found that Amazon’s year-round prices are on average 15% lower than other online retailers in the UK. Customers can shop with confidence at Amazon, where they’ll find everyday low prices across a wide selection of products, all with the fast and convenient delivery they expect.”
AO said: “Customers know that Black Friday is now at least a month-long promotion and isn’t a single day. It’s still a brilliant time to buy and gives customers the opportunity to snap up a deal ahead of Christmas. That shouldn’t mean we can’t offer strong value year-round too – as these findings show, there’s great deals to be had at other times too. We welcome scrutiny that helps customers make informed choices, and our focus remains the same, delivering great value every day of the year, not just on Black Friday.”
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Currys said it was “raising the bar” with its 2025 Black Friday sale, with every deal promising to be the lowest price ever offered.
“We acknowledge the observation made by Which? that the price of some Black Friday products can drop even lower at some point in the months that follow. This is normal and happens across retailers, as they compete, as new models are launched, and as clearance cycles run. We are satisfied that we have the right balance, offering a Black Friday deal set that is special without limiting our ability to give customers excellent offers all year round,” chief commercial officer Ed Connolly said.
John Lewis said customers could find brilliant deals all year round, and its Never Knowingly Undersold brand promise matched prices with 25 leading retailers: “Our Black Friday offer represents a great saving, and previous offers reflect us price-matching a competitor’s short-term promotion, to make sure we remain unbeaten on price.”
The Very Group said it was committed to delivering great value across its stores all year round.
Richer Sounds said it had a disclaimer on its website from early November until the close of our Black Friday promotion to say that anything marked as “Fantastic Black Friday Value” may have been at a lower price previously, but it was happy it still represented fantastic value.
“Where we marked up items as ‘our lowest price ever’ they meant just that – we’d never sold an item for less. The market may move after Black Friday and if this is the case, we will always look to pass any extra savings on to our customers,” it added.
Boots said it offered discounts on more than 20,000 products across the Black Friday period last year.
“Being part of that promotional programme does not preclude those lines from being on offer at other times throughout the year, as we strive to deliver great value for money for our customers every day,” it added.
