How to tell if a Black Friday discount is real

Only if the higher price is the product’s usual selling price: the CMA says the higher price in a price reduction claim must be a genuine and realistic selling price, and that a business should be able to demonstrate this.

The CMA’s examples of misleading ‘was’ prices include a product launched at £120 in April and then sold at £90 in May, June and July; a £150 price at which only 5 units sold, against 200 at £100; and a price that flip-flops between £15 and £11 from one month to the next.

A short-lived price rise or an old price doesn’t count either: the CMA treats a price raised from £130 to £160 for a single month, or a price charged on one date last year, as not being the usual selling price.

Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has prohibited unfair commercial practices. These include giving false or misleading information, or true information presented in a misleading way, when it’s likely to make the average consumer take a decision they wouldn’t have taken otherwise.

The CMA lists the existence of a specific price advantage among the kinds of information that can affect your decision if it’s false.

The CMA published its price examples in March 2023, under the regulations that the 2024 Act replaced; its guidance on the Act says the new provisions maintain much of the scope and effect of the previous law, and it still refers to those examples.

If you spot a misleading discount, the CMA suggests telling Citizens Advice, which can pass serious cases to Trading Standards.

Sources: Urgency and price reduction claims: compliance advice for online businesses (the open letter) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 225: Prohibition of unfair commercial practices (legislation.gov.uk), Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 226: Misleading actions (legislation.gov.uk), Unfair commercial practices (CMA207) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)) and Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to online shopping (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Only if they’re true: falsely saying that a product will only be available, or only available on particular terms, for a limited time, to push you into deciding straight away, is one of the practices banned in all circumstances by Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

The CMA’s examples of misleading urgency claims include a countdown after which the offer carries on, an offer that ends but is followed by a comparable deal, and a checkout timer that restarts when it runs down or when you refresh the page.

Stock and popularity messages can mislead too: the CMA says low-stock claims are misleading when they aren’t true, and that a message such as ‘10 people are looking at this’ can mislead even when it’s literally true, if stock is high and there’s no need to hurry.

Advertising a product at a price that the shop has reasonable grounds to believe it can’t offer in reasonable quantities for a reasonable time, without saying so, is also banned; the CMA’s example is wireless headphones advertised nationally for £9 with only 10 sets available.

The CMA’s advice is not to be rushed: keep a wish list and a budget, and remember that Black Friday is just another sale.

Sources: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20: Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair (legislation.gov.uk), Urgency and price reduction claims: compliance advice for online businesses (the open letter) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), Unfair commercial practices (CMA207) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to online shopping (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)) and Our top 5 tips for savvy online shopping this Black Friday! (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Yes, for charges you can’t avoid: since 6 April 2025, an advertised price must be the total price, including any fees, taxes or charges you’ll necessarily pay, and hiding them until later in checkout, known as drip pricing, is illegal.

Mandatory delivery charges must be included in the total price when the shop can work them out, while optional delivery charges, such as for next-day delivery, can be shown separately.

When you have to choose between delivery options, the CMA says the price should include the least expensive one until you choose a different one.

Under the 2024 Act, information that an advert or product page with a price has to include, such as the total price, counts as left out if it’s given in a way that’s unclear, untimely or unlikely to be seen.

Compare total prices, not headline prices: the CMA suggests looking at extras such as free delivery when prices are similar, and asking any AI tool you use to factor in costs such as delivery.

Sources: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 230: Omission of material information from invitation to purchase (legislation.gov.uk), Providing clear and accurate information about prices: summary (CMA209) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), Fake reviews and sneaky hidden fees banned once and for all (Department for Business and Trade) and Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to online shopping (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Check the conditions before you count the saving: the CMA says important conditions, such as a minimum spend, are information you need to know upfront, shown clearly and prominently when a shop first tells you about a deal. Its example is a ‘50% off’ offer that only applies if you spend more than £200.

Conditions in small or pale print, away from the offer, or revealed late in checkout can still make an offer misleading, according to the CMA.

Describing something as ‘free’ when you have to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the offer and collecting the item or paying for its delivery is banned.

The CMA’s Black Friday tips say to check the terms and conditions of any deal and to look out for exclusions, especially for holidays and other experiences.

• A minimum spend, or a minimum number of items.
• Excluded brands, products or sale items.
• When the offer or discount code ends.
• Whether the price includes delivery.

Sources: Urgency and price reduction claims: compliance advice for online businesses (the open letter) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20: Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair (legislation.gov.uk), Our top 5 tips for savvy online shopping this Black Friday! (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)) and Providing clear and accurate information about prices: summary (CMA209) (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Shop around: the CMA says not all Black Friday price reductions are genuine, and suggests checking at least 2 other sites, where you may find the same item for a similar price or less.

A price tracking tool shows what an item has previously sold for, so you can decide whether to buy now or wait, according to the CMA.

Price comparison sites can help, but the CMA warns that companies can sometimes pay to move their products up the rankings even when they aren’t the lowest price.

The CMA also suggests comparing prices in an incognito window or through a virtual private network (VPN), to see whether the price you’re offered changes.

AI tools can help you find deals and price history, but the CMA says they can give incorrect or misleading results, so check any recommendation on the shop’s own website.

• Compare the same item at two or more other shops.
• Check the item’s price history with a price tracking tool.
• Compare total prices, including delivery.
• Check any AI recommendation on the shop’s own website.

Sources: Our top 5 tips for savvy online shopping this Black Friday! (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)) and Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to online shopping (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Fake reviews are banned in the UK: since 6 April 2025, the 2024 Act has banned writing or commissioning fake consumer reviews, hiding that a review was paid for or otherwise incentivised, and publishing reviews in a misleading way.

Publishing reviews in a misleading way includes removing or not publishing negative reviews while showing positive ones, and giving positive reviews more prominence than negative ones.

Websites that publish reviews must take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent fake reviews from being published and to remove them.

Citizens Advice suggests looking for reviews of a shop on different websites, rather than relying on the reviews the shop has put on its own website.

Sources: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20: Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair (legislation.gov.uk), Fake reviews and sneaky hidden fees banned once and for all (Department for Business and Trade) and Check if something might be a scam (Citizens Advice), checked 26 Oct 2026.

Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true: the NCSC says fake shops copy the logos, trademarks and products of genuine shops and use lookalike web addresses, such as www.tescos-sales.com instead of www.tesco.com.

Instead of clicking links in unexpected emails, texts or social media posts, type the shop’s official web address into your browser, as both the NCSC and the CMA advise.

Before buying from a shop you don’t know, check it: Citizens Advice suggests looking up the company’s details on GOV.UK, checking its terms and conditions for a street address rather than just a PO box, and not relying on the padlock in the address bar.

Pay by credit card if you can, and never by direct bank transfer, the NCSC says; debit cards give less protection, though you may be able to ask for a chargeback.

Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726. If you’ve been tricked into paying, tell your bank and report it to Report Fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or to Police Scotland.

• Check the web address letter by letter.
• Look up the company and its street address.
• Read reviews of the shop on other websites.
• Pay by credit card, never by bank transfer.

Sources: Shopping and paying safely online (National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)), Check if something might be a scam (Citizens Advice) and Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to online shopping (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)), checked 26 Oct 2026.