Martin Lewis issued a surprise warning to Black Friday shoppers (Image: ITVX)
Money expert Martin Lewis has given a surprise verdict on Black Friday sales – but it comes with a warning.
The founder of Money Saving Expert admitted that the annual day of deals gets a bad reputation but in reality, many of the items sold on Black Friday are cheaper than in the sales which come later on in the year.
Taking to his The Money Show Live on , Martin spoke about how is actually the best time to buy the majority of products in the-run up to Christmas, contrary to popular belief.
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Black Friday is a relatively recent import into the UK, having traditionally been a day for electrical and technology item sales in the USA, but which was introduced by Asda and Amazon in the UK and has now become a day of general price promotions on pretty much anything.
Martin Lewis told his ITVX and ITV1 viewers: “A study on 50 items, on was it cheaper to buy Black Friday or in the pre-Christmas sales that come later?
“70 percent of items were cheaper on Black Friday, 12 percent were cheaper on pre-Christmas sales and the other 18 percent were equal.
“So if you’re going to be buying before Christmas, this time of year, Black Friday IS the time that you want to be buying.
“I know it gets badmouthed, but if you get the right item and it is something that you needed it is the time to buy it.”
But Martin added that gift vouchers are not such a good idea this Christmas and warned people not to use them.
He added: “As for gift vouchers, I’m not a fan, two reasons: reason one, they have use-by dates people don’t know about which makes them invalid, two if the company goes bust, they are worthless.
“So…Amazon is very unlikely to go bust, a local restaurant, if you’re giving vouchers, there is a real risk with that.
“The best gift voucher for me? It’s about this big, it’s flappy, it’s foldy, it’s got a picture of the Queen or soon to be the King on it, and it’s cash because it’s flexible and you can use it anywhere. I’m not a fan of vouchers unless it’s a big firm that isn’t going to go bust and you know when the use-by date is.”