Holiday sales: worth spending your money?

At the height of the Black Friday, Boxing Day, and January sales in 2024, we saw the participation of almost all major brands across the west, with sales largely averaging around 30% off the usual sale price. The question on everyone’s minds is whether these highly anticipated holiday sales are still worth the large amount of money many consumers spend – or do brands deceit their buyers by inflating and exaggerating the discounts?

People often use the Black Friday sales as an opportunity to buy Christmas presents, New Years Eve decorations, or even to simply treat yourselves. Dated at the end of November, the occasion began as a US tradition, eventually spreading worldwide for brand profit. Whilst at first glance it seems like an excellent way to save money in preparation for the holidays, one ‘Which?’ study found that “only 2% of products sold in the 2022 Black Friday sales were actually cheaper than at other times of the year.” With sales occurring every few months for many brands, this is unsurprising. Although Black Friday sales do not necessarily promote higher discounts, it is an easy way to get all the products you want at once – if you can acquire them before they go out of stock.

Financial journalist Martin Lewis analysed a range of products and brand sales available across the holiday season, finding that 70% of products were cheaper on Black Friday in comparison to the discounts available in December and January. Whilst Black Friday is often criticised as a way for brands to only earn more profit, Lewis states that this is actually “not backed up by the data,” despite common cynicism. He claims that “Waiting to see if an item gets cheaper will more often than not be fruitless.”

And so, whilst some holiday discounts are often exaggerated, Black Friday is still a good time to purchase the products you’ve been waiting for. If later in the year you’re looking for sales across a number of brands, make sure to set the date: Friday 28^th November 2025.