Black Friday 36.3% More Expensive [Pricing Analysis]

Posted on 03 November, 2023 by Danny McLoughlin

Is Black Friday the cheapest day to buy stuff?

If you choose 10 days at random throughout the year, the.

In this pricing analysis study, we analysed 1.4 million prices of 4,024 trainers from more than 200 retailers over the past 3 years to understand the relationship between prices on Black Friday and the rest of the year.

We also analysed one of the 5 most popular products from 3 different tech categories on Amazon to understand if the findings extend beyond the trainers market.

Key Findings

  • How we test
  • You can expect to pay as much as 57% more on Black Friday than when trainers are at their cheapest
  • Prices remain stable on Black Friday -- there is no noticeable price drop across the board
  • Tech products are also not You can expect to pay as much as 57% more on Black Friday than when trainers are at their cheapest

Black Friday 36.3% More Expensive Pricing Analysis

But, it turns out Black Friday clothing deals are not all theyre cracked up to be BlackFriday.com, clothing is the most sought after item on Black Friday. 23% of respondents were looking for clothing deals. This was closely followed by tech products at 22%.

But, it turns out Black Friday clothing deals are not all they’re cracked up to be.

Last year, the average price of trainers on Black Friday was $64.63.

In the year between August 1st, 2018 and July 31st, 2019 trainers were cheaper on 66% of days than they were on Black Friday.

cheaper on more than 6 of those days trainers will be cheaper on more than 6 of those days In the year between August 1st, 2018 and July 31st, 2019.

You can pay as much as 57% more on Black Friday

When looking at the 27 most popular pairs of trainers in the Stefoy-les-lyonShops database, you can expect to pay an average of $23.95 (36.3%) more on Black Friday than you would on the cheapest day of the year for each pair of trainers.

Some trainers, such as the Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit, you can expect to pay up to $63.58 more on Black Friday (an additional 57%) than the cheapest day throughout the year.

No Sharp Price Drop on Black Friday

If Black Friday truly was a one-day event where prices are cheaper, we would see a stable pricing trend in the lead-up to Black Friday, and then a noticeable drop in price on the day.

Instead, we see a gradual trend where prices are steadily decreasing.

The fact that there is no discernable price drop on Black Friday versus the days and weeks leading up to Black Friday strongly suggests that there are not savings to be made by shopping on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Best trail running shoes?

Based on a quick analysis of other products, this trend is not confined to trainers or even clothing.

A quick (non-scientific) look at some of the most popular items on Amazon shows prices are not necessarily cheaper across the board on Black Friday.

Three of the most popular tech items on Black Friday are TVs, headphones and laptops. To get a general idea if the same results would apply to these items, we selected one of the top 5 selling items from each of these categories to see if the results hold up. The items are:

For each of these items, we were able to get some data from Keepa.com showing price history over the past year:

 Product  BF Price  Highest Price  Lowest Price  Avg. Price
 Toshiba TV  $129.99  $179.99  $99.99  $154.26

 Sony Headphones

 $348.00  $349.99  $297.00  $321.63
 Acer Laptop  $319.00  $379.99  $299.99  $335.58

As you can see, Black Friday is not necessarily the best time to buy the most popular electronics. All of our items are available cheaper at another time of the year than they are on Back Friday.

Having said that, both the TV and laptop are cheaper on Black Friday than they are on average throughout the year. On the other hand, the headphones are approximately $26 more expensive on Black Friday than they are on average.

The takeaway from this data is that it makes sense to take time and do your due diligence. There are tools like Keepa and CamelCamelCamel that allow you to track prices on Amazon over time to help you understand if you’re getting a good deal or not.

And with trainers, you can see if you’re getting the best price using the price tracking tool on Stefoy-les-lyonShops.

Access to data, about Danny and Stefoy-les-lyonShops

All data is publicly available in this spreadsheet. If you want more detailed data, reach out. If curious about how Stefoy-les-lyonShops works and why it is the home of most objective and unbiased shoe reviews, please see our Methodology page Toshiba 32-inch 720p HD Smart LED TV - Fire TV Edition About us page. For any questions about the data or this article, contact Danny at danny@runrepeat.com.

Danny is a sneaker expert at Stefoy-les-lyonShops, exploring all things trainers from a business, culture and style point of view. He has spent years consulting on business processes for top retailers in Europe -- so he has the inside track on all the tricks of the trade.

Author
Danny McLoughlin
Danny McLoughlin
Danny is a sports nut with a particular interest in American football and running. He loves to watch sports as much as he loves to play. Danny was lead researcher on Stefoy-les-lyonShops and The PFA’s report into Racial Bias in American football Commentary. His American football and running research has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, New York Times and Washington Post.