Black friday sales soar whilst shortages and high prices leave deals scarce.

Black Friday, traditionally an American event that sees hoards of people swarming shopping malls on the Friday following thanksgiving has made its way to the UK, and people are buying into it.

It has been predicted that 60% of adults will make purchases this year with an average spend of £280 each, this will equate to £8.7 billion, up from £7.8 billion in 2019. 

Shoppers have been warned that there could be a lack of headline deals with labour shortages and stock problems along with higher running costs eating into profit margins being to blame. This is leaving retailers unable to give those heavy discounts that customers are looking for.

Consumer group Which have stated that “you’re almost guaranteed not to score the cheapest price of the year by buying on Black Friday”. This bold statement comes off the back of their biggest Black Friday investigation yet that has found that as much as 99.5% of products were cheaper or the same price as their Black Friday price at some other point during the year.

Which also published that 40% of products were cheaper than their Black Friday price at other times of the year, this leaves 59.5% of products being the same price during Black Friday deals.

This analysis, which is made up of 201 Black Friday deals from six retailers, Argos, AO, Amazon, Currys, John Lewis and Richer Sounds show that out of all the deals available 40% of them are actually reduced in price but could still be found cheaper at a different time throughout the year.

But, this does mean that 59.5% of products were at the lowest price of the year even if they had been that price before with very few being the lowest all year with 0.5% of products. So, on average, out of every 201 products, only one is a once in a year deal. 120 are good deals that could be found at the same price throughout the year and 80 are not really deals as they are cheaper throughout the year. 

So, both Which and the BBC warn shoppers that Black Friday deals may not be what they first seem to be as they use advertising with words as “our lowest price ever” and huge markdowns off extortionate RRP prices to make you part with your hard-earned cash. This is made so much worse as they inject a sense of urgency by having it for “one day only”. Making you think this may be the last time you can grab this bargain before Christmas.

The real takeaway from this is that everything you see is just a marketing ploy which is just how society does it at this moment in time and may change in the next 20 years. Everything you see will still be available in a week or a month and may even drop in price, so it may be worth holding off and saving your money as the cost of living is increasing at an alarming rate. For those really great deals that you feel you have to get, why not do a quick search on the BBC recommended site Pricerunner.com to see if it’s worth waiting a couple of weeks, or if it is cheaper elsewhere. 

Whilst retailers may not be in a position to give those huge discounts you’re after, why not check a brand’s designated website as they would be in a better position to offer discounts or better yet try buying second hand. This could save you a lot of money and also it’s better for the environment. 

 

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