Which? reveals how to get the best from Black Friday

With a week to go, Which? has released some practical advice and tips to help bargain-hunters make the most of the Black Friday sales this year.

Black Friday can be difficult to navigate, with many retailers claiming that they have the best possible deals for you. With so many offers, deals and discounts it can be hard to work out whether you are actually getting a bargain.

Which?’s top tips to get ahead of the winter sales this year are:

  1. Don’t assume that the price you see on Black Friday is automatically the biggest discount. We have often seen past discounts that were not quite as good as retailers made them sound. Which? has independent and rigorous lab test results for thousands of products on its website and a price predictor that tells you when products have been their cheapest.
  2. Follow the retailers you are most interested in shopping with on social media and sign up to their newsletters to keep updated on all their latest offers and get notified when sales go live.
  3. Find out if any shops will price match Black Friday deals at other retailers, as this will allow you to do a lot of your shopping in one place.
  4. Look at a company’s delivery costs in advance to make sure you don’t get a nasty surprise at the checkout.  In a recent Which? survey about online shopping four in 10 (42%) of respondents said paying for postage and packing was an irritating part of online shopping. Some retailers offer a buy online and pick up later service. This allows you to save money on any delivery fees and avoid busy shops on the Black Friday itself.
  5. If your plan is to buy online, be aware that some online shops will be inundated with high volumes of internet traffic and webpages may take a while to load.
  6. Check the retailer’s returns policy before buying. Don’t assume you can return a sale item that you change your mind about. When you buy online you have additional rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. These give you 14 days from the time of delivery to cancel the purchase, even if it’s not faulty. There are a few exclusions to this such as personalised goods, computer software or some hygiene products.
  7. Look at the price instead of the advertised ‘saving’. Big discounts can sometimes be exaggerated to make the deal look better than it really is. It’s all very well being enticed by a product with a £200 discount but it may still be very expensive and it might not be quite what you are looking for.

Richard Headland, Which? magazine Editor-in-Chief, said:

“During big shopping events like Black Friday it can be easy to get overwhelmed by discounts, deals and deductions.

“To get the best out of Black Friday, shoppers should do their research, form a plan and stick to it.”

For a full guide to shopping this Black Friday, visit: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/black-friday/article/black-friday-deals/when-and-what-is-black-friday-2017

Notes to editors

  • In June 2017, Which? surveyed 10,505 members of the UK public to find out about their shopping experience at online retailers in the past six months. Which? asked consumers what they found irritating about online shopping.

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