PSYCHOLOGISTS, money experts and small business owners have slammed Black Friday for its “engineered dopamine hits drenched in debt”, with one saying it preys on FOMO (fear of missing out), treats consumers as “cattle” and is “a masterclass in cynical exploitation by some of our supposedly trusted brands”.
Another expert added: “Retailers have sophisticated dynamic pricing algorithms tracking your behaviour, location, even how long you hesitate on a page. You’ve got memory and hope. That’s not a fair fight.”
Black Friday originated as the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States that is traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season and the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States.
But in recent years it has become a global phenomenon with seemingly every company in the UK now offering discounts and deals.
Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, said Black Friday has become synonymous with “pure greed”.
She said: “Black Friday is engineered dopamine hits drenched in debt. Retailers inflate prices, invent discounts and prey on FOMO, and in the process they drain the joy from Christmas giving and turn it into pure greed.”
FOMO pure and simple
Sarah Gatford, Psychologist at Sarah Gatford Ltd, said the day was set up to make sure you get involved.
She added: “Black Friday is a FOMO hijack of your wallet. We’ve borrowed America’s biggest shopping day and, with it, created a psychological playground that messes with our heads. Black Friday sells urgency, limited time and vanishing stock. Everyone’s buying.
“Your brain genuinely panics, responding as if missing out on discounted air fryers is somehow a survival threat. That’s FOMO doing its job beautifully.
“The whole thing is engineered to bypass rational thinking. You’re reacting to artificial scarcity while your inbox screams at you and countdown timers tick away your last chance at… at what exactly?
“Then there’s the mental load of tracking deals, comparing prices and second-guessing yourself. That’s not wellbeing, that’s stress dressed up as saving.”
Treating consumers like cattle
Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said you need to do your research into any deals.
She continued: “I use price trackers like PriceRunner to avoid rip-offs. Early on, discounts felt genuine. Now it’s smoke and mirrors from sales teams who think we can’t remember last month’s prices. The real problem is information asymmetry.
“Retailers have sophisticated dynamic pricing algorithms tracking your behaviour, location, even how long you hesitate on a page. You’ve got memory and hope. That’s not a fair fight. That £520 laptop marked down from £800? It was possibly £500 three weeks ago.
“I’ve seen too many bait-and-switch scams from major retailers my appetite’s evaporated. I vote with my wallet now, penalising companies who don’t care about consumers. Those above-inflation mobile price hikes? Perfect example of treating customers like cattle.
“The psychological damage isn’t from missing deals, it’s realising you’ve been consistently lied to by systems designed to exploit your trust. Once you see the manipulation through price monitoring, Black Friday stops feeling urgent. It just feels tiresome.”
Buy local not big
Patricia McGirr, Founder at Burnley-based Repossession Rescue Network, urged people to buy local.
She added: “Fake discounts and FOMO have become the real back story of Black Lie Day. Yet the public, ever worried about missing out on a real deal, or genuinely trying to make their pennies stretch further, are bamboozled by slick marketing and deadlines that sell the cover up nicely.
“Dynamic pricing and the lovely website cookies give retailers all they need to know about your interests and intentions. Big retailers know when you’re primed and ready to smash that ‘buy now’ button right before the inevitable ‘upsell’ to prise the last few pennies from your pocket.
“The sad thing is lots of smaller retailers offer genuine discounts, but they lack the marketing capacity to compete in this annual race to rake in cash. My advice? Sit tight. Buy local. Do price comparisons and only buy what you really need. Let’s face it, there’s always cyber Monday?”
Philly Ponniah, Chartered Wealth Manager and Financial Coach at Philly Financial, warned against FOMO.
She continued: “Black Friday taps straight into the parts of our brains that hate being left out. As a financial coach I see the same pattern every year.
“People tell themselves they’re being smart with money, but the day is built to knock you off balance. Urgency ramps up, logic shuts down, and you start chasing deals you never planned to buy.
“The reality is that most discounts pop up all year. What people respond to isn’t value, it’s the spike of adrenaline and the worry that everyone else is getting ahead. That’s why so many end up overspending then feeling flat or guilty afterwards.
“When someone scrolls for hours, it’s not financial wellbeing. It’s behavioural nudges pushing people toward choices that don’t actually serve them.”
Trusted brands biggest offenders
Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said Black Friday is misleading.
He added: “Black Friday should be a vital saving for hard-pressed UK consumers in the run-up to Christmas. Instead, it’s becoming a masterclass in cynical exploitation by some of our supposedly trusted brands.
“We’re seeing fake sales – products quietly listed at inflated prices weeks beforehand just so retailers can pretend the ‘discount’ is real. And increasingly, items are being manufactured to a lower specification purely to be pushed out as ‘Special Offers’, giving the illusion of a bargain when in reality it’s nothing of the sort.
“At a time when families are watching every penny, this isn’t just disappointing – it’s downright misleading. And the worst part? Some of our most trusted brands are the biggest offenders.”
Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash
