Most Black Friday deals are not genuine discounts - Which?

Just one in 20 Black Friday deals are genuine and the shopping day is surrounded by “hype” revealed the latest research by Which?.

According to Which?, it is the hype around Black Friday that creates the impression that every offer is worth buying and while it may seem that retailers are slashing their prices, that is often not the case.

Which? tracked the prices of the products sold in 2017's Black Friday deals across a full year - for six months before Black Friday and six months afterwards - and found that 87% of the Black Friday deal items investigated were available for the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.

The deals it looked at included 94 of the most popular tech, home and personal care products.

In 86% of the cases looked at, the items cost the same price or less in the six months following Black Friday, while 46% could be found cheaper than their Black Friday price on at least one day in the six months afterwards.

Just 13% of the products it tracked were at their very cheapest price on Black Friday.

Home products and services chief Natalie Hitchins said: "We have repeatedly shown that deals touted by retailers on Black Friday are not as good as they seem. Time-limited sales can be a good opportunity to bag a bargain, but don't fall for the pressure tactics around Black Friday.

"Our investigation indicates that this popular shopping event is all hype and there are few genuine discounts," she said.