Despite the level of mistrust about the sales patter, more than a third of shoppers still plan to go bargain hunting over the last weekend in November, writes Conor Pope.
The scepticism is not misplaced, with repeated studies over many years by British consumer watchdog Which? showing that the vast majority of products advertised as having a big discount over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period were cheaper either not long before or soon after the weekend in question.
Despite the popularity of the sales, confidence in the accuracy of the advertised discounts is low and among those planning to spend money 49 per cent said they did not trust the accuracy of the discount information provided. When responses from all consumers – including those who don’t intend to buy in the sales – were looked at, trust rates fell to 35 per cent.
She said the research made it clear that “consumer confidence in the legitimacy of advertised discounts is very low. Only 35 per cent of consumers trust that discounts or presale prices displayed during sales are accurate. Misleading advertising is illegal and consumers should be able to trust in advertised discounts,” she said.
Speaking more broadly, she reminded consumers that they have more and more easily enforced rights when they shop from a site based within the European Union, a category which no longer includes UK retailers.
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