Many products promoted as ‘on sale’ last year were actually cheaper before or after event, according to Which? investigation

Shoppers are being warned that Black Friday deals might not live up to the hype, after an investigation found that many products promoted as being “on sale” last year were actually cheaper before or after the event.

Currys and AO are singled out by Which?, the consumer group, which claims they may have broken government guidelines by inflating the “was” price to make promotions look more appetising.

“Consumers should be wary of claims of massive savings this Black Friday as they may not be as spectacular as they seem,” said Pete Moorey, the head of campaigns at Which?. “Shoppers might be surprised to learn that only half of Black Friday deals are actually cheapest on Black Friday.”

Which? investigated 178 deals from Black Friday 2015 tracking the daily price moves of 20 popular electrical gadgets on Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys and John Lewis for three months before and two months after Black Friday.

They found that only 90 deals were cheapest on Black Friday. A Currys promise of a £101 saving on a Samsung TV was not as good as it looked, as the £748 price tag was only a pound less than on the eve of Black Friday and it had been on promotion at £699 in September. AO trumpeted a £200 saving on a Vax vacuum cleaner at £99, yet it had been on sale for £69 the previous day and on average for £96.50 in the three months leading up to Black Friday.

Amazon introduced Black Friday discounts to Britain in 2010 but the event is now a fixture of the retail sales calendar with Currys, John Lewis and Argos key players in an event increasingly focused on aggressively discounted electronics and domestic appliances.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A worker at Amazon’s warehouse in Hemel Hempstead. Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

For many the last weekend of November coincides with the last pay day before Christmas, and analysts at PwC predict Britons will spend £2.9bn over the four days starting on 25 November, up from £2.1bn in 2015.

Initially Black Friday, which always falls after the US Thanksgiving holiday, was a 24-hour sale but this year it has been stretched over nearly a fortnight with Amazon starting its event on Monday, offering up to 50% off thousands of products ranging from 70in TVs to cordless screwdrivers and advent calendars.

When promoting a discount the “was” price is supposed to be the most recent price the item has been sold at for 28 consecutive days or more. Which? said it found numerous examples where it thinks AO and Currys were not following the government’s pricing practices guidance (PPG) by using an older, higher “was” price.

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Black Friday has been Currys biggest trading day for the past three years. The retailer, which is part of the group that owns PC World and Carphone Warehouse, said it “fundamentally disagreed” with the approach taken by Which?.

“We comply fully with the PPG guidelines, displaying a clear date from when the ‘was’ price was taken, allowing customers to make a fully informed decision. Currys offered thousands of deals on leading brands over Black Friday in 2015 and this year’s event is set to be even bigger.”

An AO spokesperson said: “The internet is the most transparent marketplace ever created for consumers to be able to compare price and service associated with it and we work hard to be exceptional on both fronts. This has been recognised many times by Which? themselves.

“We work hard to ensure that any promotions we make are clear and take our obligations to consumers very seriously.

“The sheer scale of Black Friday’s great offers means that these are planned up to 12 months in advance to maximise the value and service for our customers. That demands significant planning for a very fluid trading environment across hundreds of offers and we are always focused on offering the best price match promise all year and especially around Black Friday.”