St James Quarter lands luxury fashion brand BOSS

  • BOSS will take 5,400 sq ft at St James Quarter, as the lifestyle district continues to ramp up its high-end fashion offering
  • This latest signing follows the recent arrival of women’s fashion brand, REISS
Edinburgh St James is a 1.7 million sq ft city centre development and one of the biggest regeneration projects currently underway in the UK. On completion, Edinburgh St James will provide the Scottish capital with up to 850,000 sq ft of prime retail space, five star hotel accommodation and will deliver up to 250 new private residential apartments. This will create a vibrant and exciting place to live, visit and shop in the heart of Edinburgh. Architect: BDP and Allan Murry Architects. Developer: Nuveen Real Estate. main contractor Laing O’Rourke

St James Quarter welcomes luxury fashion brand BOSS to its line-up of high-end brands. The world-famous BOSS brand will take its place at St James Quarter alongside the likes of REISS, Kooples, Aesop, Russell & Bromley, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and the recently opened H Beauty.

HUGO BOSS is one of the largest German fashion companies and produces luxury clothing, accessories, footwear and fragrances. The BOSS brand is set to occupy 5,400 sq ft of space on level three.

The latest letting expands the fashion offering at St James Quarter. BOSS will join the impressive list of names including & Other Stories, Mango, Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Next, H&M, JD Sports, John Lewis and many more. It also follows on from the recent announcement of Duck & Waffle.

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “BOSS is a brand we’ve had our eye on for a while and think they will be a great addition to St James Quarter in 2022. We continue to bring together a diverse range of retail, leisure and food & beverage brands with broad appeal but which are far from ubiquitous and BOSS fits superbly into the St James Quarter line up.”

Complementing an unrivalled shopping offer, St James Quarter is a premier food and drink destination in the heart of the Scottish capital. It provides a truly diverse offer – from fast, fresh food, to family and restaurant dining, including Bonnie & Wild as the anchor for the development’s new concept food hall alongside Five Guys, Wingstop, Thai Express, Pho, Maki & Ramen and The Alchemist. 

Christmas opening times at Fort Kinnaird

For those looking to fit in some last-minute festive shopping, Fort Kinnaird has confirmed its opening times for the run up to Christmas.

The centre will be open from 9am until 6pm on Saturday, 10am until 6pm on Sunday and from 9am until 9pm Monday to Thursday. On Christmas Eve, Fort Kinnaird will be open from 9am to 5pm.

Fort Kinnaird is home to a huge range of brands, including high street favourites Clark’s, Next and OFFICE, and restaurants such as Bread Meats Bread, Nando’s and Wagamama, as well as a 7 screen ODEON cinema.

Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “We know many people have started their Christmas shopping early this year, but there’s also many who still have plenty to do or those last few bits to buy.

“We’re open right up until Christmas Eve, and look forward to welcoming visitors doing their festive shopping or spending some quality time with friends and family – right up to the big day.

“With our late night opening hours, we’re giving people even longer to shop meaning they can choose to visit at a time that’s more convenient or perhaps a little quieter for them.”

The centre continues to have extra measures in place to help visitors feel safe. Face coverings are compulsory in all indoor areas and we’re encouraging everyone to maintain a safe distance from others.

We have enhanced cleaning regimes in place and our retailers are encouraging contactless payments where possible. Our stores and restaurants are also carefully managing visitor numbers to be confident that everyone can maintain social distancing.

Free parking is available as usual, and all visitors are encouraged to check the opening hours for individual retailers directly with them before setting off.

The centre’s opening times for the rest of the festive period are:

  • Christmas Day: Closed
  • Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
  • 27th- 30th December: 9am – 9pm
  • New Year’s Eve: 9am – 5pm
  • New Year’s Day: Cinema and selected restaurants open only. Please check with individual retailers for opening hours
  • 2nd January: 9am – 6pm

For more information to help plan your festive trip to Fort Kinnaird, head here.

St James Quarter introduces stellar Christmas line-up

As 2021 comes to an end, St James Quarter shows no signs of slowing down with seven new retailers opening their doors in time for Christmas.

Throughout the month of December, St James Quarter announces a number of openings including Thai Express Kitchen, German Doner Kebab, Wingstop, Reiss, Bubbleology, Moriconi and Sunnamusk, just in time for the busy festive season.

Catering to everyone, the new line-up offers everything from clothing and accessories to food and drink, providing a luxurious escape featuring new trends and tastes from around the world.

Much to foodies’ delight, Wingstop and Thai Express Kitchen are now open and are tingling tastebuds with the American and Canadian brands both beginning their first venture in Scotland, bringing flavours and recipes from across the globe.

German Doner Kebab also opened its doors to its third restaurant in Edinburgh late last week and has launched its limited-edition ultimate winter warmer to celebrate. The all-new Chilli Heatwave Krunch Burger is set to get pulses racing and has arrived just in time for the Christmas holidays.

For those looking for the perfect Christmas party outfit, they can shop ‘til they drop in the brand-new Reiss store which opened today. Taking The Quarter’s fashion offering to a whole new level, the iconic brand will offer fashionista’s high-quality pieces suitable for all ages.

And it doesn’t stop there, St James Quarter has welcomed new name Moriconi, an Italian jeweller featuring handmade pieces from Tuscany using both traditional and modern processing techniques to the main galleria floor.

Joining them later this month will be Bubbleology, a leading Bubble Tea brand, crafting made to order tea-based beverages and Sunnamusk, a specialist fragrance house based in the UK. Working with a team of highly skilled perfumers, Sunnamusk produces an exclusive range of pure fine oils, Eau de Parfum and home fragrances.

Getting into the Christmas spirit, St James Quarter is also running a 12 days of Christmas giveaway offering car park users the chance to receive an exciting free parking prize for use in January. Guests using the car park will be surprised at random between the 12th to 24th December.

Additionally, shoppers can make the most of parking at The Quarter with a fixed rate of £5 from 5.30pm onwards available during the festive period.

Nick Peel, Managing Director for St James Quartercommented: “As we approach Christmas, there couldn’t be a better time to welcome new and exciting brands to St James Quarter. As the place to shop in Scotland’s capital, we’re proud to welcome a number of Scottish firsts as well as brands already popular with visitors to the city.

“From luxury fashion to exotic tastes, there’s something for everyone at The Quarter and our retailers will be sure to make Christmas shopping an enjoyable experience for all.

“We look forward to welcoming guests over the Christmas period and will be excited to share our latest developments in the new year.”

St James Quarter launches gift wrapping service to raise festive funds for charity partners

With 12 days until Christmas, St James Quarter has launched a brand-new gift-wrapping service, giving shoppers a helping hand this festive season.

Located on level one of the Galleria, the St James Quarter volunteers can expertly wrap gifts of all shapes and sizes, in exchange for a charity donation for the shopping destination’s charity partners, Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids and Deaf Action.

The festive service launched on Saturday where the volunteers were joined by The Rolling Hills and St Giles choirs who serenaded shoppers with Christmas tunes to help spread the Christmas cheer this year.

The gift-wrapping service will continue until Christmas eve and is available from Thursday to Sunday, 12 noon until 6pm. St James Quarter is also spreading the festive cheer to the lower levels, with unlimited parking for £5 after 5:30pm this festive season.

For more information, please visit www.stjamesquarter.com

H beauty: Harrods opens first beauty emporium in Scotland

Harrods is proud to announce the launch of its first stand-alone H beauty destination in Scotland, in the heart of Edinburgh, on the 30th November 2021.

Following two successful H Beauty store openings across England, the latest H beauty, will be located at St James Quarter, in the heart of Edinburgh’s shopping district. The latest addition to the H beauty portfolio reflects Harrods’ commitment to bringing its industry-leading expertise in creating luxury shopping experiences through its unique curation of brands, to new communities across the UK.

Offering a game-changing beauty wonderland, the 21,000 sq.ft. space embodies the future of beauty, providing an expansive space for customers to enjoy a diverse portfolio of exceptional services and must-have products from over 90 international beauty brands.

The store is an experiential playground where both beauty novices and experts can discover the industry’s most innovative brands in addition to finding their long-standing favourites.

In keeping with H beauty’s ethos of inclusivity, empowerment, and self-expression, the Harrods buying team, led by Annalise Fard and Mia Collins, has carefully curated a spectacular offering that delivers something for everyone and encourages the H beauty community to play, experiment and celebrate who they are through beauty.

To provide customers with an unmatched and elevated beauty retail experience, each H beauty store is developed with the local beauty community in mind and is designed to bring the most important and vibrant products, brands, and experiences to customers, often for the first time.

H Beauty will support local talent and up and coming Scottish brands, whose values directly connect with Harrods own, with its ‘Born & Bred’ offering, featuring local brands such as Vieve, Moo & Yoo, Kingdom Scotland and Lola’s Lashes.

The store also offers the first physical location in Edinburgh for local customers to test, swatch, play and purchase iconic and coveted products instore from the much-loved Charlotte Tilbury, as well as Keys Soulcare and Kora Organics.

Premium brands such as Chanel, Dior and Givenchy sit alongside cult-favourites, some who until now have only had a limited presence in Edinburgh including Westman Atelier, Kylie Cosmetics, and Sunday Riley.

Annalise Fard, Director of Beauty at Harrods, commented: “The opening of our first H beauty store in Scotland is a significant and hugely exciting milestone for Harrods.

“As a leading authority in luxury and the beauty space, we are committed to meeting the ongoing demand for high quality retail beauty shopping experiences outside of London, through the expansion of our stand-alone H beauty stores, and we take great pride in bringing the essence of Harrods Beauty to local communities across different regions of the UK.

“For H beauty Edinburgh, we have carefully curated an extensive portfolio of brands and products tailored to suit the local customer, which this is reflected in the breadth of beauty collections and services available in store.”

H beauty is a perfume paradise, and as the UK’s leading fine fragrance retailer, Harrods intends to bring the best of what is offered in the Knightsbridge Beauty Halls to regional communities across the UK.

The store’s fragrance offering showcases the sectors growth and the continuous demand for luxury perfumes. With a dedicated Fragrance Bar, boutiques by Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Penhaligon’s, as well as access to brand exclusives from Initio, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Parfums de Marly, and Montale, customers can rediscover their familiar favorites and fall in love with new signature scents.

In addition, H beauty’s extensive skincare offering ensures that there are enriching and effective products to enhance your daily skincare routine or address skin concerns, across a range of different price points. 

The store also houses a wealth of innovative beauty gadgets, makeup, candles, and haircare brands that are designed to enhance your inner and outer wellbeing, and up your beauty game with eye-catching looks.

H beauty is an all-encompassing destination for all things beauty and the store is framed by several dedicated boutiques for some of the most iconic names in the industry, from Gucci’s instantly recognisable pastel and floral décor, to Charlotte Tilbury’s glamourous Hollywood-inspired beauty and skincare offering.

Harrods is known for delivering innovative and creative shopping experiences, and at H beauty Edinburgh customers can access interactive make-up tutorials and experiential product testing through state-of-the-art play tables throughout the store.

Additionally, the store’s 14-seat Champagne Bar offers an indulgent menu of patisseries and cocktails created by Harrods’ renowned food and beverage team, providing the prefect space for beauty lovers to sit, sip and reunite with friends.

Mia Collins, Head of Beauty at Harrods, said: “We are delighted to bring the magic of Harrods Beauty to Scotland for the very first time, with our H Beauty St James Quarter store.

“We are so excited to join the avid community of beauty lovers in Edinburgh and we can’t wait to share H beauty and our epic line up of brands & products with them.

“Our new store in Edinburgh features all of H beauty’s iconic signatures including our famous Champagne Bar; the picture-perfect spot to meet loved ones for a glass of something sparkling or a delectable bite to eat, as well as our immersive play-tables and an assortment of new beauty experiences and concepts that will inspire and delight local customers.

“We are bringing a swathe of local and up-and-coming brands, products, and services to our Scottish beauty lovers that aren’t available anywhere else in Edinburgh and I can’t wait to introduce them to this discerning audience.”

Following two successful H beauty openings, the first at Lakeside retail centre in Essex and second at centre:mk in Milton Keynes, H beauty Edinburgh marks the latest chapter in Harrods’ long term strategic plans to bring H beauty to beauty communities around the UK.

The ambitious national expansion will also see two further stores open over the next 12 months in Bristol and Newcastle.

@HarrodsBeauty 

#Hbeauty

https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/h-beauty/edinburgh

Festive fun for furry friends at little dobbies Stockbridge

The most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than treating your pooch to some festive fun this Christmas at Dobbies.

The UK’s leading garden centre will be debuting its ever-popular Santa Paws event at the recently opened little dobbies Stockbridge store on limited weekend dates during December. A perfect opportunity to give four-legged friends a fun day out and get some great snaps for those Christmas cards.

Santa Paws offers the adorable chance for dogs to meet Santa and take home a special Christmas gift. A memorable experience for pets and owners alike.

Sarah Murray, Partnership and Events Manager at Dobbies, said: “We love welcoming furry friends to our stores throughout the year, and can’t wait to meet our four-legged customers this Christmas.

“This will be the first time Santa Paws has come to our little dobbies Stockbridge store, and we really hope locals and visitors alike can enjoy this offering.

“We have a wide range of products in-store that would make for the perfect Christmas treat for your furry friend, or special new accessory to don on Christmas day.”

This exclusive festive experience will take place outside the little dobbies Stockbridge store, where each dog will have a pre-booked slot with Santa. Booking is essential to enjoy this experience, and subject to availability.

Running on the 11,12, 18 and 19 December, customers and canines can enjoy this experienced in the run up to Christmas, priced at £6.99 per pet.

Santa Paws will also be taking place in Dobbies’ Edinburgh store during selected dates in December.

Find the full list of festive events and more information online, www.dobbies.com.

Aldi celebrates opening of it’s 100th Scottish store

£6000 OF PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

Aldi reached a huge milestone this week when it opened its 100th store in Scotland. The grand opening took place yesterday in Edinburgh’s Hermiston Gait Retail Park. 

To thank its customers for their ongoing support, the supermarket is giving out prizes worth a total of £6,000 across all its Scottish stores from 25th November. The first 1,000 customers in each Scottish store that spend £25 and over will be eligible for a scratch card, with various prizes up for grabs, including two vouchers worth £1,000 each.

Aldi opened its first Scottish store in Kilmarnock in 1994, and has since expanded operations significantly in Scotland, employing nearly 4,000 people across the country, with the plan to increase their workforce by nearly 400 by 2023. The growth doesn’t stop there as Aldi is constantly looking for new site locations and on upgrading and extending their existing stores.

Aldi Scotland is incredibly proud of their local sourcing, working with 90 Scottish suppliers and stocking over 450 Scottish products, with a target of reaching 500 within 2 years. It is this commitment to supporting local that saw Aldi crowned Scottish Sourcing Business of the Year at the 2019 Scottish Food and Drink Awards and the reason they are widely celebrated as the number one supermarket for supporting Scottish farmers and food producers.

Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director Aldi Scotland said: “Reaching 100 Scottish stores is a huge achievement and one that really is a team effort. We would not be here if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of all our Aldi staff and I want to thank them for their continued commitment over the years.

“We could never have imagined 27 years ago when we opened our first store in Kilmarnock that our customers would take us into their hearts and homes in the way they have.” 

Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director Aldi Scotland added: “We are so lucky to work with the most talented suppliers that Scotland has to offer to allow us to bring the very best of Scotland’s larder to our customers and I want to thank them for working in partnership with us so we can offer top quality, award-winning products at everyday amazing value.

“We are always looking at opportunities to expand our supplier base and are proud to say 30% of our range is now locally sourced in Scotland.”

To celebrate this milestone further, Aldi is issuing reusable plastic water bottles to all staff in order to be more sustainably responsible.  Aldi has committed to halving its plastic footprint by 2025.

Aldi is committed to helping local communities through initiatives like the Scottish Sports Fund, which has now donated nearly £300,000 to over 500 Scottish sports club since its inception in 2016 and the Neighbourly partnership, which intends to donate 10 million meals, to those who need it most, in 2021.

Aldi has also been the Proud Supermarket Partner of the Kiltwalk since 2019. 

Harrods to open first stand-alone beauty emporium in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter

Harrods to open first stand-alone beauty emporium in Scotland on 30th November

The luxury department store expands its beauty business outside of England for the first time with the launch of H beauty Edinburgh

Harrods is proud to announce the opening of its newest H beauty store at St James Quarter on the 30th November, bringing world-leading experts in beauty, skincare, haircare and wellness to Edinburgh all under one roof.

The opening will mark the first ever H beauty to open in Scotland, demonstrating Harrods’ ambitious commitment to bring its expert beauty curation and luxury shopping experience to new communities across the UK.

Each H beauty store is developed with its local beauty community in mind, and this new 20,000 sq.ft. space will bring together a diverse portfolio of the most premium and innovative brands – from Dior and Chanel to Augustinus Bader and Sunday Riley.

The flagship opening will also introduce several new brands to Edinburgh including Charlotte Tilbury, Clé de Peau Beauté, Kylie Skin & Cosmetics, and Westman Atelier, as well as act as the first physical location in Scotland for brands such as Keys Soulcare, and Kora Organics. 

H beauty will also support local talent through its ‘Born & Bred’ offering, housing up and coming Scottish brands such as Jamie Genevieve’s sensational makeup brand Vieve, as well as Moo & Yoo, Kingdom Scotland and Lola’s Lashes. 

An extensive offering of cutting-edge brands will be paired with must-have products, expert-driven services, and immersive retail experiences that H beauty is renowned for, such as interactive Play tables and the iconic Champagne Bar.

Annalise Fard, Director of Beauty at Harrods, commented: “As our first ever store in Scotland, the latest H beauty opening in Edinburgh is a hugely exciting milestone for Harrods.

“After the fantastic response that we’ve had to our previous two H beauty store openings, this launch at St James Quarter marks another significant addition to our leading beauty retail shopping destinations.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing Harrods’ incredible and innovative beauty offering to Edinburgh, giving beauty lovers throughout the local community the opportunity to play, discover and enjoy, and we can’t wait to welcome you all through our doors on the 30th November.”

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “We are beyond excited that H beauty is opening its doors and officially joining the St James Quarter family. To be welcoming an incredible brand like Harrods is another example of St James Quarter providing brand new, game-changing experiences for our customers. 

“We want to give our visitors something new to see and do every time they come back to The Quarter, so we can’t wait to see H beauty, a first for Scotland, come to life.”

The latest H beauty launch at St James Quarter follows two successful store openings, the first at Lakeside retail centre in Essex and the second at centre:mk in Milton Keynes. Harrods will continue with its strategic and ambitious plans to deliver its unrivalled H beauty shopping destinations to a wider audience across the UK with two further H beauty stores, due to open in Bristol and Newcastle over the next year.

@HarrodsBeauty 

#Hbeauty

https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/h-beauty/edinburgh

A third of Scots never trust Black Friday deals

Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping seasons of all, but although it is often the cheapest time of year to bag a bargain, a recent survey from YouGov shows that 33 percent of Scots never trust the deals they see on the day.  

Every year during Black Friday there are both genuine and fake deals advertised as on sale, according to price comparison service PriceRunner who analyse thousands of sale prices every year. Last year they found that every fifth discount in their analysis was actually a fake deal.

A fake deal is when retailers subtly increase the price of a product ahead of a sales season to then lower them in time for the sale, creating a fake or inflated impression of a sale.

Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner, said: “This incredible sneaky sales tactic is not illegal but highly inappropriate, tricking consumers into thinking they are getting a much better deal than they actually are.

“I urge consumers to be mindful during Black Friday and always compare prices before they buy.

Scottish shoppers are starting to catch on to this fact, according to a survey carried out in October by YouGov of more than 2,000 people in the UK. When asked if they trust the deals they see advertised on Black Friday, a third of Scots said they never do.

When able to choose as many options as applicable, the most popular way Scots find out if a deal is genuine or not is by comparing prices directly on different websites (answered by 62 percent), where the fourth most popular option is to use a comparison service (answered by 19 percent) instead.

What will Black Friday 2021 mean for Scots?

With the big day coming up this Friday, a third of Scots said in the survey that they plan to buy discounted products during the Black Friday sale, with more than one in four planning to spend up to £500 on bargains.

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To find out the possible number of fake deals this year, PriceRunner has been keeping track of prices on more than 20,000 products since the end of August from the UK’s 50 most popular retailers.

Prices have already started to increase ahead of Black Friday, as 13 percent of all tracked products have increased in price by on average 19 percent (as of 23rd November). This indicates the possibility of a large number of fake deals during Black Friday this year as well.

A further third (or 29 percent) of Scots are worried that the products they may want to buy during Black Friday might not be for sale due to the ongoing HGV crisis.

According to data from PriceRunner, some of the products that are largely out of stock and might be hard to get your hands on right now are toys (12 percent), laptops (38 percent), watches (30 percent), tablets (30 percent), game consoles (28 percent), TV’s (26 percent) and golfing products (25 percent).

All Scots want for Christmas is cash

Getting ready for Santa early, 86 percent of those who plan to buy bargains on Black Friday said they will use the occasion to buy Christmas presents.

According to the survey, able to choose as many options as applicable, the top gifts Scots want for Christmas this year are:

1.     A gift card or money, 26%

2.     Clothes, 24%

3.     An experience, 16%

4.     A perfume, 16%

5.     Alcohol/spirits, 15%

Of those planning to bag a bargain on Black Friday, 48 percent will be shopping only or primarily online. In general, 70 percent of Scots said they shop online more now than in physical shops, compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic started.

Best tips for shopping the Black Friday sales

Giving her advice on how to get the most out of the sale, Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner, shared her five top tips on how to bag a bargain during the Black Friday sale:

1.     Use a comparison site to get the best price today on the product you want to buy, don’t just check a couple of your favourite websites as there is a high likelihood of a better deal somewhere else

2.     When you’ve found the product you want, remember to check its price history to make sure the price hasn’t been increased before the sale

3.     Keep track of the products you want by setting a price alert for them, getting an email or app notification when they drop in price, let someone else do the work for you!

4.     Make a list of what you actually need during Black Friday to avoid getting carried away by deals and buying things you don’t need.

5.     The best deals are usually found on Black Friday, although some retailers have extended their sales period to the full week. However, there are often even greater price reductions on Cyber Monday on the products that are left, just don’t wait too long as stock will likely run out quickly this year.

Nine in 10 Black Friday ‘deals’ same price or cheaper ahead of the event, Which? reveals

Nine in 10 (92%) Black Friday ‘deals’ are the same price or cheaper in the six months ahead of the big event, a Which? investigation has found.

The consumer champion analysed 201 of last year’s Black Friday deals at six major retailers – Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis and Richer Sounds – looking at their prices every day during the six months before and after Black Friday as well as on the day itself.

A huge 184 of the products, which included popular items such as washing machines, soundbars and TVs, were the same price or cheaper in the six months prior to Black Friday. Only 17 of the deals did not fall into this category.

With Black Friday just days away, Which? is advising shoppers to do some research to help them hunt down the minority of deals that really are a bargain and emerge from the mammoth sales event with high-quality products at a reasonable price.

Consumers could have had a challenge finding a decent deal at Currys last year, given every one of the 32 products Which?’s experts looked at from the retailer’s Black Friday sales had been an equal price or cheaper in the previous six months.

One of the worst individual deals Which? came across was a Zanussi ZWF81441W washing machine at John Lewis that was cheaper than its Black Friday price on 88 different days before the day itself.

‘Discounted’ to £309 on Black Friday, customers could have bought it £60 cheaper at £249 five months before and for £289 within just a month after.

Another dubious ‘deal’ was a Bush BRC100DHEB 100cm Dual Fuel Range Cooker sold at Argos for £449.99 (was £499.99) but it was actually the same price 66 times before and 19 times after Black Friday.

Out of the retailers analysed, Richer Sounds had the highest proportion of deals, four out of 14, that were not cheaper or the same price before Black Friday – still not hugely impressive.

When looking at prices six months before and after Black Friday 2020, just one of the 201 products was at its cheapest price on Black Friday alone.

Many shoppers do not do any research before they splash their cash on Black Friday, which leaves them at greater risk of falling for dud deals. Which? survey research shows four in 10 (39%) of those buying baby and child products last year did little or no research on price, while for home appliances this was the case for three in 10 (28%) and for tech products it was one in five (18%).

Which?’s survey also found that a lot of shoppers had not read reviews of products before buying them. A third (33%) of those buying baby and child products last Black Friday did little or no research on reviews of the products before buying. For those buying home appliances a quarter (26%) were in this position and for tech products it was one in five (22%).

Which?’s pricing investigation also found that, when looking at the six months after Black Friday, almost all (98.5%) of the products across the six retailers were cheaper or the same price at some point during this period – suggesting that in some cases shoppers may be better off biding their time and waiting for the price of a product to fall further.

Which? believes retailers should always make sure the discounts they quote are truly genuine.

Consumers are advised not to feel pressured to rush into making a purchase. They should look to get Black Friday bargains that are the real deal this winter and choose products that are high-quality and built to last.

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “Our latest investigation has shown that the vast majority of Black Friday deals are not as good as they appear to be, which is why it’s so important to do your research before diving into the sales.

“Take time to identify the products you really want and check that the ‘deal’ you’re seeing represents a genuine saving. That way, you can beat the hype and be confident that you’ll emerge from the Black Friday sales with quality products that will last for years to come – and all for a bargain price.”

Black Friday advice