Black Friday: Be prepared for an increase in prices

  • Black Friday prices could rise, warn shoppers 
  • Popular items are up to 35% more costly, according to research 
  • Costs of mobiles, TVs, and coffee machines are the most significant. 










New research suggests that Black Friday could see shoppers spend significantly more on products than other days of the year.

Analysis of a basket of goods in the two months before Black Friday 2020, on the PriceSpy site, showed the same ten items cost a total of 18 per cent more on the day itself – a difference of £488.66.

These items include some of last year’s most sought-after Black Friday products, such as coffee machines, headphones, and mobiles.

Research has shown that Black Friday is the only day when items are at their best.

A number of popular items are more expensive to buy on Black Friday than other times of year

Black Friday is a popular day to purchase many items that are typically more costly than at other times.

PriceSpy research found substantial price discrepancies for 14 popular product categories, sometimes to the tunes of hundreds of Pounds per item.

Categories with the biggest average price increases include coffee machines with a difference of £63.54 when comparing the lowest price to Black Friday and mobiles with a gap of £49.33.

TVs also saw a difference of £31.66 and hair straighteners were on average £21.84 more expensive during the shopping holiday. 

Sage Appliances Barista Express was the most expensive of all ten items purchased on Black Friday 2013.

The coffee machine cost £540 on Black Friday last year but was available for £399.99 in the period before – a difference of £140.01 and an increase of 35 per cent. 

A Samsung TV was also found to be £50 more expensive on Black Friday last year – going up from £399 to £449.

Meanwhile, GHD Platinum Styler + straighteners were £51.01 more expensive, rising to £151 on the shopping day. 

Apple products also saw price differences with second generation AirPods costing £13 more on Black Friday last year whilst the iPhone 12 cost £44 more.  

BLACK FRIDAY BEFORE EVENT PRICE FOR POPULAR ITEMS
Article    Lowest pre-Black Friday Prices (Sept  to 27 Nov 2020)    Black Friday Price   
(27 Nov 2020)
There are differences   Date of the lowest price in the last year (Oct 20 to Oct 21)  
Apple AirPods (2nd Generation) with Charging Case   £105.00   £118.00   + £13.00   Sep 21  
Samsung TV UE50TU8500   £399.00   £449.00   + £50.00   Oct-21  
Fridgemaster MS83430FFS (Silver)   £379.00   £449.00   + £70.00   May 21  
Sage Appliances Barista Express   £399.99   £540.00   +£140.01   Sep 21  
Asus Chromebook 12 C223NA-GJ0014   £178.00   £194.99   +£16.99   Jun-21  
Apple iPhone 12 64GB   £680.00   £724.00   +£44.00   Jun-21  
Garmin Forerunner 245   £179.00   £219.99   +£40.99   Sep 21  
Microsoft Xbox Series S512GB   £225.40   £269.36   +£43.96   August 21  
Numatic Henry   £99.00   £117.70   +£18.70   Jun-21  
GHD Platinum Styler +   £99.99   £151.00   +£51.01   February 21  
TOTAL    £2,744.38   £3,233.04   +£488.66   N/A  
Source: PriceSpy         

Prices have been steadily rising in the lead-up to Black Friday.

In the period September to October, the average price for popular items increased by 2.25 percentage points.

For those who want to get the best deals, the price will slowly drop by mid-November. That’s when you can expect the first deals to start.

The overall price of products dropped 12. days prior to the event last year but it was just 0.4%. Meanwhile, 30% more popular items in PriceSpy’s top categories were cheaper on Black Friday than they were 14 days ago.

Ossie Bayram is PriceSpy UK’s country manager. She said that Black Friday allows many people to shop for deals for Christmas, or just to pamper themselves. 

However, these “deals”, while they are certainly plentiful in quantity, can be more expensive than other times of the year.

The reality is that incomes will be squeezed due to the inflation rate and increased energy costs as we get closer to Black Friday. This makes it even more crucial to avoid getting sucked in by all the noise and spending more than you should. 

“Instead, for those shopping, we suggest that they take their time.

It’s important to research the item you’re interested in, to create a wishlist and to look at prices history. This will help you determine when the best time is to buy those products.

PriceSpy used its price history tool to analyze thousands of prices in 42 categories.

The data on the lowest prices in the past year were taken from PriceSpy, October 2020-2021. This information was derived from PriceSpy’s price history tool.

To show the time when prices are expected to drop, we used PriceSpy’s analysis of total product prices last year.

Advertisement