Nearly nine out of 10 Black Friday deals could be found at the same price or cheaper earlier in the year, according to analysis.
Consumer group Which? looked at the prices of 219 popular home and tech products for six months before Black Friday 2019 and six months after.
These included products from Amazon, AO.com, Argos, Currys PC World and John Lewis.
The analysis found that 85% could be found cheaper or the same price in the six months before.
Only three of the 219 items were at their cheapest price on Black Friday.
Among the examples, was a set of Bose headphones at Currys PC World - sold for £249 on Black Friday but cheaper or the same price on at least 15 occasions in the six months prior.
At John Lewis, a De'Longhi coffee machine cost £1,285 in the Black Friday sale, but it had been the same price or less on at least 35 occasions in the six months before, falling to less than £1,200 on several days in May and June 2019.
At AO.com, 38 out of 44 Black Friday deals included in the research were cheaper or the same price before the big day.
At Argos, 15 out of 18 had been cheaper or the same price in the six months before Black Friday, as had 57% of products analysed at Amazon.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said consumers looking for a good deal should do their research first, adding: "That way you'll know a genuine bargain when you see one."
Black Friday is on 27 November this year.
Responding to the findings:
- Amazon said: "We seek to offer our customers great value thanks to low prices all year round as well as a number of fantastic seasonal deals events. Our Black Friday Sale is about thousands of deals on a huge selection of products from every category across the site, at a time of year when we know saving money is important to our customers."
- AO said: "We offer great deals for our customers all year. Last year's Black Friday event had over 9,000 fantastic and fair offers for customers and we expect this year to be even bigger."
- Argos said: "Our Black Friday event gives customers access to hundreds of products at their lowest ever price. They may also be part of sales and promotions we run the following year."
- Currys PC World said throughout the year it is continuously price-matching and it has additional sales "to ensure we keep our promise of amazing tech that is affordable and accessible".
- John Lewis said: "As a participating retailer in Black Friday, we offer hundreds of deals across technology, home, beauty and fashion. In addition to the variety of offers we have in-store and online during the promotional period, our never knowingly undersold price promise means that we continuously monitor and match the prices of our high street competitors throughout the year."
