Black Friday 2026: we're tracking 972 products every day to see which deals are real

The rules, set before the sales

Decided before collection began, so the results can't shape them. We'll report against exactly these.

• Periods. The baseline runs from the first day through November 22. Early deals, November 23 to November 25, are reported separately. The sale runs from Thanksgiving, November 26, through Cyber Monday, November 30, with Black Friday, November 27, also reported on its own.
• Two measures, side by side. A sale price is below the lowest we observed if it's more than 1% and at least $1 under that store's lowest baseline price for the item, and below typical if it's that far under the store's median baseline price.
• Enough history. A store's listing needs at least 7 baseline days to be compared at all. Listings with fewer are counted as "limited history".
• The same listing throughout. A store's price series is one listing: the same item and the same link. If a store switches colour or version, that's a new series, never a price drop.
• What's included. New items only. Out-of-stock listings are excluded; "in stock" and "stock not stated" are reported separately. Prices that need a coupon, code, membership, subscription, trade-in or monthly payment plan are left out of the comparisons and counted separately. Marketplace sellers are kept apart from the retailer's own listings.
• Listed prices. Comparisons use the listed price; the price with stated shipping is a second result. Comparisons between stores use only prices read at the same moment.
• "Was" prices. We record each store's reference price and its label word for word. The only question we ask of it is whether we saw the store charge that price in the baseline: "observed", "not observed in our window" or "not enough history".
• Coverage. Every scheduled check is recorded, including any we miss. Our target is 95% of checks collected on time each day, and we'll publish the actual figure.

What this study can't show

• Google lists up to 13 stores for a product; a store missing from a check is "not listed", never "out of stock".
• Amazon doesn't appear in Google's store lists for these products, so this study doesn't cover Amazon's prices.
• The basket is products already sold at three or more big stores; it isn't everything on sale, and Black Friday-only models aren't in it.
• The baseline starts on November 6. Our wording will be "the lowest we observed", never a claim about a store's entire price history, and never "fake".