Black Friday Discounts Too Good To Be True? Survey Shows Only 42% Of Sales Are Authentic

Black Friday, known for its enticing discounts on the latest technology, may not always deliver the bargains shoppers expect. A recent study by KnownHost revealed that nearly a third of these “deals” aren’t genuine savings at all.

What To Know: An analysis of 65 of the most anticipated Black Friday tech deals from last year showed that, while 78% of products participated in sales, about 30% experienced price increases before the event to create the illusion of deeper discounts. 

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Only 42% of items had stable prices leading up to Black Friday before significant price drops, representing authentic deals. In comparison; 29% of products saw price hikes before Black Friday, with the average being a 20.5% increase, before dropping on the sale. 

According to the KnownHost report, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN products were some of the biggest offenders. The largest price hike in the week before Black Friday was Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, which saw its price double before the sales event. The price of Amazon's Echo Buds rose 46% and the Amazon Fire Max 11 Tablet saw a price increase of 35% in the week before Black Friday. 

Other products that saw large price increases were HP, Inc.'s HPQ HP 14 laptop with a 27% increase and Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 phone up 16%. 

Benzinga has contacted Amazon for comment on the KnownHost report.

Tech accessories are mostly likely to experience hikes ahead of Black Friday sales, the report showed, followed by headphones, smartwatches and laptops.

TVs and tablets were the least likely to have seen increased prices leading up to Black Friday, and therefore, the categories where shoppers are most likely to find genuine savings. 

"Black Friday can be as good as it seems with genuine deals still available to save money and get presents just before Christmas, but checking these deals out beforehand is important," KnownHost said in its report. 

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Image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay