‘Shops are doing their best.’

One savvy shopper perusing the Black Friday deals at Columbia Sportswear made a revealing discovery when she moved a display price tag to reveal what was underneath.

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The video comes from TikTok user Kayla Salamon (@kaylasalamon), who received more than 474,000 views Thursday morning for a video released Monday. In it, she shows off a rack of clothing in the store that reads “Black Friday Deals: Now $99.99.”

But she lifts the sign and reveals the sign it replaced: “Special Value: Now $99.99.”

She chuckles audibly at the revelation and then says, “That’s funny.”

On its website, the store is promoting Black Friday deals of up to 40% off select items and 50% off what it calls “doorbusters.” According to the fine print, the Black Friday sale has been running since November 20 and will continue through December 3.

What to look out for on Black Friday

A CNBC article published Tuesday warns: “This year, the number of people shopping between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber ​​Monday could reach a record, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey. But that does not mean that consumers get the lowest prices of the season.”

The article further noted that, according to a WalletHub report, “41% of items at major retailers offer no savings compared to their pre-Black Friday prices.”

The article quoted consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch as saying, “Some Black Friday deals are misleading because retailers may inflate original prices to make a deal seem like a better value.” It was further noted that other potentially deceptive practices, such as creating a sense of urgency around product availability, are not just limited to Black Friday.

Reactions of the people

Commentators commented on the seven-second video.

“Why I don’t shop on Black Friday,” someone cynically judged.

“And they wonder why people don’t buy as much as they used to/go shopping on Black Friday,” echoed a fellow commenter.

Another commented, “I was literally looking through Walmart’s app yesterday at the deals that were about to start and saw a video game that cost $30, say, $30 on November 25.”

Someone claims this is nothing new. They stated: “This is happening and people have only started noticing it in the last few years.”

Finally, one commenter noted, “Stores are doing their best.”

@kaylasalamon Advertising at its best #blackfriday #shopping #deals ♬ original sound – Kayla Salamon

The Daily Dot contacted the creator via TikTok response and Columbia Sportswear via email.

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