Black Friday shoppers should be wary of deals to avoid being ripped off, retail experts have warned.

Nine out of 10 Black Friday offers are cheaper or the same worth at other times of the year, according to research by buyer throng Which?.

While Sarah Johnson, director of merchandise consultancy Flourish Retail, told the BBC some brands may inflate prices ahead of sales to make discounts look bigger.

Black Friday originally marked the day after Thanksgiving in the US but in recent years the sales have extended into the weeks before and after, with Cyber Monday driving millions in online sales.

Shoppers spent an estimated £13.3bn during the Black Friday sales in 2023, according to Which?.

Ms Johnson said: “It used to be that you had to establish a worth for 28 days before it could be changed, but this is no longer the case.

“As a outcome, many brands inflate prices in the navigator-up to Black Friday, allowing them to advertise ‘large discounts’ that, in reality, aren’t genuine.”

Which? researchers looked at 227 products in last year’s Black Friday fortnight between 20 November and 1 December.

The deals analysed were from eight of the biggest home and tech retailers in the UK and some of the products on propose were the same worth or cheaper at different times in the year.

In what it called “one of the worst examples”, Which? found a hairdryer priced at £18.99 in a Boots Black Friday deal, claiming to be reduced from £49.99.

However, the product had never been £49.99 at Boots in the preceding 12 months.

Which? said a spokesperson for Boots told it its researchers had “reviewed a very tiny number of our Black Friday deals from last year and in all cases, the items were at a lower worth whilst on promotion or when worth matched against competitors.” The BBC has contacted Boots for a comment.

Which? also highlighted a previous John Lewis Black Friday deal which featured a smartwatch discounted to £294 with a saving of £90. But Which? found at no point in the previous 12 months had it been sold at £384.

Which? said a John Lewis spokesperson told it: “The recent gain of our reimagined Never Knowingly Undersold brand commitment – which matches prices with 25 leading retailers – gives customers absolute confidence that they are getting fantastic worth.”

The BBC has contacted John Lewis for comment.

Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine said: “We desire retailers to drop the sneaky pricing tactics so consumers are not misled about the deals on propose.”

He advised shoppers to contrast prices at multiple retailers and use websites which check the product’s worth history.

“That way you’ll recognize a excellent deal when you view one,” he said.

• Be wary of products for sale at too excellent to be factual prices.
• Make a list of things you desire to buy and stick to it to avoid impulse purchases.
• Focus on buying fewer but higher-standard items instead of snapping up lots of lower-priced deals and you’ll reduce waste while saving money.
• Beware of fake websites and check the URL belongs to the official brand.
• Watch out for posts from a newly created social media account, or links to a recently created website. You can use a domain checker like who.is to check when a website was created.
• Read reviews and only buy from authorised sellers and websites.

Source: Which? and Flourish Retail