2020-11-26 13:14Press release

7 out of 10 products are cheapest - after Black Friday

Black Friday deals on PriceRunner

Black Friday, the biggest single sales day of the year in the UK, starts tomorrow. Many retailers will be discounting products to awaiting consumers, but some prices will not be as good as they seem. Independent comparison site PriceRunner commissioned a survey by YouGov of 2,000 adults in the UK, finding that 83% of Brits do not trust or are not sure if deals will be as good as they seem. PriceRunner’s analysis shows that they are right to be sceptical, as almost a third of Brits prepare to shop on the big day.

Wanting to see if Black Friday truly is the best day of the year to shop, PriceRunner analysed 8,184 products on sale during Black Friday last year. They found that 70% were cheaper to buy in the six-month period after Black Friday.

There are plenty of great deals to make on Black Friday, but our analysis shows that there is no need to panic if you can’t shop online on the day. Most prices continue to fall in the months after Black Friday, meaning you could potentially save even more if you dare wait”, said Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner.

PriceRunner found that consumers can bag plenty of bargains this Friday, as one in five products last year reached their lowest price on Black Friday.  

However, six out of ten products were cheaper if you bought them before the big day, and if you waited, more than seven out of ten products reached their lowest price in the six-month period after Black Friday.   

70% of products cheaper to buy after Black Friday

PriceRunner commissioned a second survey by YouGov of 2,000 adults in the UK, carried out last week (17th – 18th of November), showing that out of those who only bought Black Friday gadgets from physical shops last year, 50% plan to shop online this year instead.

Putting their names on Santa’s naughty list, five out of ten Brits who last year shopped on Black Friday from physical shops will still visit shops in person this year.

Can we trust deals on Black Friday?

When analysing an additional 11,387 of the most popular products from the UK’s largest retailers on sale on Black Friday last year, PriceRunner found that every fourth offer was fake.  

According to PriceRunner's analysis, a fake offer occurs when a product sees a price increase by at least 10 percent in the period leading up to for example Black Friday, to then be reduced by 5 percent or more on the day. By doing so, retailers create the fake impression of a sale.

There are however plenty of great deals to bag on Black Friday if you know where to find them. PriceRunner took a look at the 8,184 most popular products available to buy on Black Friday last year, finding that off-season products had some of the best savings:

We saw many great reductions on golfing gear, lawn mowers and BBQ’s in last years’ Black Friday sale. These summer products are often discounted at the end of the season, especially on Black Friday, as retailers want to get rid of older models and clear out their stock”, said Christine Gouldthorp.

59 percent of all lawn mowers reached their lowest price on Black Friday compared to the six-month period before. Golfing gear was 64 percent cheaper on Black Friday compared to the same period, and you could save up to 49 percent on a BBQ.

For those wanting to upgrade their home tech, 43 percent of laptops were their absolute cheapest on Black Friday. Out of all tablets on sale, 33 percent reached their lowest price on Black Friday.

Many of us want to save money on expensive technology we only buy every so often, such as televisions. There are quite a few good deals to grab during Black Friday, as one in ten TV’s last year reached their lowest price on Black Friday. However, always compare prices before buying, as 62 percent of all TV’s were cheaper in the six-month period before Black Friday” said Christine Gouldthorp.

Savvy shoppers will be able to grab the best bargains with some easy research before buying. Sharing her top tips on how to save more on the Black Friday sale, Christine Gouldthorp said:

Plenty of offers might seem too good to be true on Black Friday, chances are they will be. We always recommend consumers to check the price history of a product before buying, that way you can see if an offer really is as good as it seems or if it is actually cheaper at a different time of year. Our analysis showed that 70 percent of all products on sale during Black Friday will become even cheaper after November 27th “. 

For an simple round-up of the best Black Friday offers already available in one place, additional tips on how to save the most on the Black Friday sale and how to shop safer and smarter online, visit the Black Friday top tips page on our website.


About PriceRunner

PriceRunner is the UK's independent price comparison service with over 1,600,000 products from more than 5,000 retailers. PriceRunner was founded in 1999 and is primarily active in Sweden, Denmark and the UK. We are a team of 150 ambitious PriceRunners who work to develop the most loved service for comparison shopping. PriceRunner is completely independent; we are not owned by or dependent on any manufacturer, retailer or other organisation that might have an interest in providing biased information. PriceRunner's mission is to help consumers find better products and better prices. Every month we help hundreds of thousands of consumers to find better, cheaper products and save money by comparing prices for a particular product.