The research also found that while it might be expected that some products drop in price over time as newer models are released, 61% of the items studied were cheaper or the same price at least once before the Black Friday sales period, too.

Which? said it crunched the numbers for 83 products that were on offer on Black Friday 2018 (49 from Currys PC World, 20 from Amazon, 12 from John Lewis and two from Boots), and compared their Black Friday prices with the six months before and after the sales.

About half of all the products Which? looked at (48%) were sold at lower prices after Black Friday, and a further 47% were available for the same price.

When broken down into types of products, the consumer’s association found that 97% of home products (eg tumble dryers) and 94% of technology products (eg TVs) were cheaper or the same price after Black Friday.

Ultimately, just four out of 83 products were at their cheapest price on Black Friday when compared with the six months before and after.

The worst retailer Which? looked at when it came to pre-Black Friday pricing was Currys PC World, with 83% of the products it advertised as part of its Black Friday promotion having been cheaper or the same price at least once in the six months before the sale.

Similarly, 100% of the Amazon items Which? looked at were the same price or cheaper at least once in the six months after Black Friday.

Which? emphasised that while consistently low prices are not a bad thing, they do mean that consumers should feel less pressured to buy on Black Friday.

The consumer’s association has urged Black Friday shoppers to take any offers described as ‘time-limited’ with a pinch of salt, as chances are it won’t be the last opportunity you get to buy at that price.