When it comes to hunting for great discounts, Black Friday essentially comes to mind first. However, findings from a new study of British consumer group Which? reveal that this is not always the case as seen from the previous year's figures.
The group investigated Black Friday market trends in 2016 and has come up with surprising results. Which? reveals that 60 percent of deals on Black Friday the previous year can be found at other times of the year at similar or even cheaper price. In contrast, 40 percent of the deals have similar or even lower prices in December.
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Which? managing director of home products and services Alex Neill said: "Although Black Friday can offer some great discounts, not all offers are as good as they seem."
In the study, Which? monitored prices of 35 most common tech, home and personal care products on sale in the previous year. Of the 35, 22 were from Currys/PC World, 12 from Argos and 1 from Amazon.
At Currys/PC World, a Neff Slide & Hide oven was sold for £494.99 last Black Friday and for £449.99 three weeks later. A Samsung 55-inch Smart 4K Ultra HD curved TV advertised by Currys as "Save £400, now £849" was £50 less in most days in December, January, April and May.
Which? advised shoppers to slow down and do some research before throwing every single piece of discounted items into the cart.
"It's easy to get swept along by hype and excitement on the day, so we recommend doing some preparation and research to help make sure you really are getting a good deal when shopping in the sales," said Neill in the report.
