“黑五”打折真相：你真的省錢了嗎？

“雙11”剛過去，“黑色星期五”購物季又要到了，各位剁手黨準備好買買買了嗎？可是，所謂的打折、優惠、大促銷，真能幫你省錢嗎？消費研究專家最近警告說，人們在“黑五”花的可能是冤枉錢，因爲所謂的打折商品，多數比平時更貴。

Black Friday does not offer the bargains it claims, consumer experts warned.

消費專家警告稱，“黑色星期五”的打折促銷名不副實。

Almost all of the ‘deals’ promoted around the event last year were actually on offer for the same price or cheaper in the six months either before or after.

去年“黑五”期間，幾乎所有促銷優惠商品的價格其實與半年前或半年後的價格相同，甚至更貴。

Remarkably, just one in 20 was actually the cheapest price on that date.

值得注意的是，實際上只有二十分之一的商品價格在“黑五”期間是最便宜的。

Consumer group Which? has told shoppers to be wary of what they describe as the ‘Great Black Friday Swindle’ after analysing dozens of offers from Amazon, John Lewis and Currys PC World.

消費者組織Which？在分析了亞馬遜、約翰•劉易斯和Currys PC World提供的數十種優惠後，告訴消費者要警惕“黑五大騙局”。

swindle [ˈswɪndl]：n.詐騙，欺詐；騙局

Imported from the US, Black Friday always falls on the last Friday of November. This is because the sales are scheduled to follow the American holiday of Thanksgiving which takes place the day before.

“黑五”源自美國，一般是在11月的最後一個星期五，也就是美國感恩節假期後的第一天。

In Britain, the event has been a disaster for many retailers – particularly those with a high street presence – because they feel they have to slash prices or risk missing out on the first flush of festive spending.

在英國，這一活動對許多零售商來說是一場災難，尤其是那些在商業街開店的零售商，因爲他們覺得必須降價，否則就可能錯過節日消費的第一波熱潮。

slash prices：大幅度降價

Before Black Friday crossed the Atlantic, shops held off advertising discounts until the last minute before Christmas.

“黑五”在英國普及之前，商店要到聖誕節前夕才推出優惠活動。

However, the November sales event now leads to a huge spending splurge over the weekend – only to be followed by empty stores and streets through December.

然而，11月的促銷活動使週末消費熱潮高漲，而整個12月消費市場都很疲軟。

Now research by Which? suggests the Black Friday sales themselves are not all they seem.

而如今，Which？的研究表明“黑五”的促銷名不副實。

Which? tracked the prices of 83 products on sale on Black Friday in 2018 for a year, from six months before the day until six months after. Researchers found just four deals – 5 percent – were cheaper on Black Friday than at other times.

Which？對2018年“黑五”打折出售的83種商品的價格進行了爲期一年的追蹤，從“黑五”之前的6個月到之後的6個月。研究人員發現，只有四件商品的價格在“黑五”當天的售價更低，僅佔全部商品的5%。

Six in ten of the products on offer, which included speakers, soundbars and kitchen appliances, were cheaper or the same price on at least one day in the six months before the event.

六成的“黑五”打折商品，其中包括揚聲器、條形音箱和廚房電器，售價與“黑五”前6個月內某天的價格相同，甚至更貴。

And Which? found that three in four products were cheaper or the same price in the six months afterwards, when compared with the deals offered in two weeks around Black Friday.

Which？還發現，與“黑五”兩週促銷期間的價格相比，四分之三的商品在“黑五”之後6個月內的價格更便宜或者相同。

Natalie Hitchins at Which? said: ‘We have repeatedly shown that “deals” touted by retailers on Black Friday are not as good as they seem. Time-limited sales can be a good opportunity to bag a bargain, but don’t fall for the pressure tactics around Black Friday. Our investigation indicates that this popular shopping event is all hype and there are few genuine discounts.’

Which？的娜塔莉·希金斯說：“我們一再表明，零售商吹捧的‘黑五’促銷並不像看上去那麼好。限時促銷可能是撿便宜的好機會，但不要陷入‘黑五’期間的壓力戰術。我們的調查顯示，這個受歡迎的購物活動都是炒作，幾乎沒有真正的折扣。”

hype [haɪp]：n.大肆宣傳