Bargains on Black Friday? Consumers are often deceived
Published: Wednesday, Nov 15th 2023, 10:30
Updated At: Thursday, Nov 16th 2023, 00:58
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The supposed bargains on Black Friday are often misleading. In certain cases, a purchase on a bargain day can be a good deal, but often less is saved than hoped for.
"Shopping on Black Friday can be worthwhile, but it doesn't have to be: some products are actually cheaper than usual, others are not, even if they are advertised with big discounts", said André Bähler, Head of Politics and Economics at the Foundation for Consumer Protection, to the news agency AWP on Wednesday.
For fast-moving products such as televisions or smartphones with regular new releases, discounts on Black Friday & Co. are usually "pseudo-discounts", according to Consumer Protection. The opposite is true for products that are in short supply, such as computer components or games consoles. Consumers may be able to achieve a price advantage by purchasing a product as soon as it is launched.
"However, consumers should keep a cool head and compare the prices of several providers," said Bähler. This way, it quickly becomes clear whether a Black Friday offer is actually good value. "Consumers shouldn't let themselves be put under pressure by countdowns, limited offers and other marketing tricks," he continued.
Comparison is also difficult because many online retailers are constantly changing prices. Prices often change several times a week or even a day. According to Consumer Protection, this makes it difficult to identify large price reductions.
Many cases of deception in the EU
An analysis by the EU Commission in 2022 showed that there is also cheating on Black Friday. According to this, 43% of the online websites checked last year violated EU law in their price information.
According to EU law, stores and online marketplaces must state the lowest price for the product in the last 30 days when announcing price reductions. However, this was often not the case.
There have also been similar cases in Switzerland in the past. In 2022, for example, a furniture retailer had to go to court because of false discounts. The company had presented promotions with crossed-out prices that were significantly higher than the actual prices, but the items had never been offered at the crossed-out prices before.
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