Which? has tracked Black Friday prices at the big UK retailers for years. In its latest study, 83% of the deals were the same price or cheaper outside the sales period, and none was at its cheapest on Black Friday itself.
Are Black Friday deals real? Some are, but far fewer than the banners suggest. Which? tracked 175 products at eight big UK retailers for a full year around Black Friday 2024, and 83% of them were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the four-week sales period. On Black Friday itself, none of the deals it looked at was at its cheapest price of the year. Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November, so there is time to learn what the thing you want normally costs before anyone tells you it is reduced.
Usually not by the measure that matters, which is whether you could have paid the same or less on another day. Which?'s study, published on 25 November 2025, compared 175 home, tech and health appliances at Amazon, AO, Argos, Boots, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Very. It tracked each price for six months before and six months after Black Friday 2024, and compared it with the price in the sales period, 15 November to 12 December 2024.
The examples show what that looks like for one product. A Samsung Jet Bot robot vacuum was £350 at John Lewis on Black Friday, but it had been £299 for 29 days in May and June. A Samsung QE55QN90D TV was £1,039 at AO on Black Friday, fell to £999 the day after, and was cheaper than its Black Friday price for 134 days in the six months that followed, getting as low as £759.
Our research exposes the harsh truth: for the majority of shoppers, Black Friday is a false economy.
Yes. Which? runs the study most years and the answer keeps coming back the same. The sample and the window change from year to year, so read each row as its own study rather than a trend line.
| Black Friday studied | Published | Deals checked | Same price or cheaper at other times | Cheapest on the day itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 23 November 2021 | 201 at six retailers | 99.5% | 1 of 201 |
| 2022 | 21 November 2023 | 208 at eight retailers | 98% (six months either side) | 5 of 208 |
| 2023 | 26 November 2024 | 227 at eight retailers | 92% (all 227 were the same price or less on some other day than on Black Friday itself) | Not given |
| 2024 | 25 November 2025 | 175 at eight retailers | 83% (outside the four-week sales period) | None |
The sources are Which?'s own write-ups: the 2020 study, the 2022 study and the 2023 study. The 2022 one found something useful for anyone planning ahead: Apple AirPods (2nd generation) were cut from £139 to £119 at Argos and Currys, but had been cheaper than £119 every day from 25 May to 9 September, at £99 to £109. The price went up to £139 in September and then came down to £119 for Black Friday week.
In the 2024 study, John Lewis came out worst and Richer Sounds best. The figure below is the share of each retailer's deals that were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year, so a lower number means more genuine deals.
| Retailer | Same price or cheaper at other times | What else Which? said |
|---|---|---|
| John Lewis | 94% | 56% were cheaper at other times |
| Very | 93% | A Dyson V11 Extra was £349 in the sale, and the same price on 29 days before it and 41 after |
| Amazon | 88% | Cheaper outside the sales period in 63% of cases |
| AO | 85% | A Samsung TV was cheaper than its Black Friday price for 134 days afterwards |
| Currys | 84% | Kept its promise that no sale product had been cheaper in the six months before; 84% was the figure for six months either side |
| Argos | 79% | Runs a Black Friday Price Promise |
| Richer Sounds | 55% | The best result in the study |
Two retailers now make promises about their Black Friday prices. Argos told Which? that in 2024 its Black Friday badged deals, from 1 November, were the lowest price of the previous six months and would not be cheaper before 25 December. Currys said that for 2025 every Black Friday deal would be at its lowest ever price at Currys. Both promises cover one year's event, so check the wording again for Black Friday 2026 before relying on either. Neither one says the price will not fall in the January sales.
From the page alone, you can't. The was price is the shop's own claim about its past, and Which? keeps finding claims that do not hold up. In the 2023 study, for six in 10 deals the higher price had been in place for less than half the time the product was on sale in the year before, and 14 deals quoted a higher price the retailer had not charged once in the previous 12 months. One was a Remington hair dryer at Boots, £18.99 on Black Friday and said to be down from £49.99, a price it had not been at Boots in the preceding year.
RRPs get the same treatment. In the 2024 study an Oral-B Vitality Pro toothbrush at Boots was advertised as save £25 against an RRP of £50, yet that £50 price had applied on only 13 days in the six months before the sale. The Competition and Markets Authority's view of what a genuine comparison price is, from its Simba Sleep case, is on our price drop alerts guide.
Friday 27 November 2026, with Cyber Monday on 30 November, according to Which?'s Black Friday page. It also points out that many retailers start their discounts at the beginning of the month. AO told Which? that Black Friday is now at least a month-long promotion. Some brands say so about their own offers too. Dyson's Black Friday FAQ warns that deals can launch early, which we covered in our Dyson guide. So the useful dates are now to the end of October, when you learn the normal price, and November, when you find out whether the reduction beats it.
Pick the products now, not in November
A shortlist made in September is a list of things you want. One made during the sale is a list of things with a red badge on them.
Watch the price at the shop you would buy from
Point a price monitor at each product page. Which? suggests PriceRunner, or camelcamelcamel for Amazon only, to check a price history. Watching it yourself covers shops neither of those reads.
Write down the lowest price you see before November
That is your real benchmark. The AirPods in the 2022 study were £99 to £109 all summer, which made the £119 Black Friday price easy to see through.
Set a target below that price
An alert on any change goes off every time a shop tweaks a price by a penny. A target means you only hear about a price worth paying.
Keep watching after Black Friday
The AO TV in the 2024 study was cheaper than its Black Friday price for 134 days afterwards. If no real deal turns up in November, the monitor is still running for the January sales.
StockWatch can watch the product page at a UK shop and send a price drop alert when it falls. Setting a target price and avoiding false alerts is covered in how to get price drop alerts for any UK shop. Retailers that keep a sale-only section are worth watching too: Ocado's clearance listings print both prices, so the discount is sums rather than a badge.
Some are, but most are not the best price of the year. Which? tracked 175 Black Friday 2024 deals at eight big UK retailers and found 83% were the same price or cheaper outside the four-week sales period, and none was at its cheapest on Black Friday itself.
It can be either. In Which?'s 2022 study, Apple AirPods were cheaper all summer than on Black Friday. In the 2024 study, a Samsung TV at AO was cheaper than its Black Friday price for 134 days afterwards. Watching the price is the only way to know for the product you want.
Friday 27 November 2026. Cyber Monday is 30 November. Many retailers start their offers at the beginning of November.
In Which?'s study of Black Friday 2024, Richer Sounds did best, with 55% of its deals the same price or cheaper at other times. John Lewis did worst, at 94%.
Know the price before the sale starts. Watch the product page from September or October and note the lowest price you see. If the Black Friday price does not beat it, it is not a deal, whatever the was price says.
Start watching a price before Black Friday Paste a product link and get an alert when it drops below your target, whether that is in November or January.