Consumer NZ has ‘named and shamed’ several retailers over misleading Black Friday deals in its latest study.
The consumer advocacy organisation tracked the prices of 10 products at four major retailers over the past 14 weeks, and found that half of them had the same or lower discounts at some point in the last three months compared to the current Black Friday deals.
Gemma Rasmussen, head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, said she was disappointed, but not surprised, by the ‘dud deals’.
“Retailers know how to tap into the excitement of Black Friday sales and are masters of marketing,” Rasmussen said. “Based on our findings at these four stores, Black Friday feels a bit underwhelming.”
The first example came from Briscoes, where four products were cheaper at some stage during the last 14 weeks than they are today.
According to the data, the Kenwood Chef mixer is priced at $490 on Black Friday, but was cheaper on November 20, at $449.99. A Breville four-slice toaster is priced at $125.99, yet shoppers could have bought it for $105 in September.
At Noel Leeming, four products offered a genuine Black Friday deal, and three products were more expensive than they had been previously.
“You might think the ‘now $50’ promotional label on a Russell Hobbs kettle is a good Black Friday price – but you could have snagged it for $19 in September,” said Rasmussen.
The Russell Hobbs air fryer is priced ‘now $159’ but could have been purchased for $147 in early November. The Breville Toastset Toaster was $109 in September and $158 in October, but is currently at $209.99.
Farmers had the same problem with three products, such as the Nutribullet (currently $99.99 compared to $74.99 in October) and the Russell Hobbs Satisfry (at $169.99 today versus $159.99 in October).
At Harvey Norman, the Russell Hobbs Satisfry was $51 more expensive than it had been in September.
That retailer, however, does offer one “phenomenal saving”, said Rasmussen. The Dyson Cyclone stick vacuum, which has been $1199 for the majority of the time, is priced at $599.
Rasmussen said there are genuine deals out there, but consumers have to look carefully.
“Don’t be swayed by phrases like ‘hot deal’, ‘massive stock sell-out’ and ‘great price’,” she said. “The proof is in the pricing.”
