Black Friday is looming, with consumers seeing ads for bigger, better bargains to buy now. But are customers being gamed?
Black Friday is originally an American tradition, with enormous sales the day after Thanksgiving.
But data from PriceSpy, a NZ price comparison website, suggests about nine percent of products actually went up in price in the week before Black Friday, and dropped on the day.
Some of the most sort after tech products actually offered the worst deals.
"It's marketing fear of missing out," tech commentator Jordan Tini told Checkpoint.
"It's attracting that fear that you will miss something that you needed at that moment. That's really where the biggest tip around this day is.
"You just need to be prepared and just make sure you know what you're in for. You don't necessarily need it on the day, it's exciting, but you might have a better deal in future."
The deals can be good on Black Friday, Tini said, but not all of them.
"Forty-three percent of products went down last year which is quite large, but apparently one in 10 products actually went up in price. So there are bargains to be had, but that's pretty much like every other day in the year, it's about spotting that right moment and whether or not you actually need it at that time.
"I personally don't think Black Friday has as much impact as it used to, simply because there's so many specials happening throughout the year, and especially with Covid-19 we've been seeing retailers react to that in different ways. And we've definitely seen a lot of change in marketing strategy and pricing out there reacting to this pandemic.
"Through the data that PriceSpy supplied to us, they've seen some retailers do mark-up the price, just so that when they retail it at the time, they can sell it and make it look like it's gone down in price, but really the margin hasn't actually changed that much.
"If we look at the number one product last year, the Nintendo Switch, that retailed at about $497, but roughly a month before that you could actually purchase it at $450.
"So it's watching the market and actually seeing what it does."
Tini told Checkpoint one of the most searched-for items are mobile phones, but they only moved about two percent in price overall on Black Friday.
"A lot of the phones that people do want are premium models – the latest iPhone, the latest Samsung Galaxy, and those don't really move in price essentially because they replace those devices annually.
"So you don't really see the margin be as big as you want it to be."
His message for customers is to do what he does: "Keep calm and check out the price. Do your research folks, just make sure you're actually looking out for the best price, and you never know, you might find a better price another day."
