Retailers' Black Friday Price Tricks Exposed

Fresh data reveals a concerning trend where retailers routinely increase product prices shortly before Black Friday, only to advertise them as significant discounts. This practice means many advertised deals during the crucial sales window sell at or even above their regular prices, misleading consumers. The consumer watchdog has been actively investigating such potentially deceptive sales tactics across various retailers throughout November.

One prominent instance involves Officeworks, which drew consumer ire for its pricing strategy on a 27-inch Samsung curved desktop monitor. The monitor's price was hiked back to its base of $267 after being sold for $188, before being lowered again and then advertised for $188 as a "Top Pick For Black Friday."

These price manipulations were quickly noticed by observant shoppers who took to social media platforms to voice their grievances. The investigations come as approximately six million Australians were estimated to have spent around $39 billion during the Black Friday sales period.