Very, the online department store owned by The Very Group, has launched a Black Friday Price Promise that guarantees shoppers will not lose out if a deal they buy is cut further during the sale. If an eligible Black Friday product is reduced again by Very before 4 December 2026, customers can contact Very’s customer services and claim back the difference, according to a company announcement reported on Thursday 29 October by Retail Week and Retail Times.
The promise covers eligible Black Friday discounted lines across every category Very sells, from fashion, electricals and toys to home, beauty and sports. It runs for the whole of Very’s Black Friday event, which the company says lasts from 28 October to 4 December. Alongside it, Very has introduced an everyday price promise on thousands of products in its electricals and toys ranges.
The move puts Very alongside Currys, which brought back its own Black Friday price guarantee this week, and it lands in the most heavily policed Black Friday the UK has seen. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined two retailers for fake time-limited offers on 14 October, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against several big names over misleading Black Friday savings claims earlier this year. For shoppers, the practical question is simple: does the promise mean you can buy now without regretting it later, and what do you have to do to get your money back?
In short
- What Very promises: if an eligible Black Friday deal is reduced further by Very before 4 December 2026, you can claim back the difference through Very Customer Services, subject to the terms of the promise.
- How long it lasts: the protection covers Very’s whole Black Friday event, from 28 October to 4 December 2026, and claims must be made by 4 December.
- What is covered: eligible Black Friday discounted products in all categories, including fashion, electricals, toys, home, beauty and sports; a separate everyday promise covers thousands of electricals and toys.
- What it does not do: it protects against a later Very price cut, not against a cheaper price elsewhere, and it does not prove the Black Friday price is the best price of the year; Which? found 93% of Very deals it tracked in 2024 were the same price or cheaper at other times.
- Your other rights still apply: the 14-day online cancellation right, Section 75 protection on credit card purchases from £100 to £30,000, and FCA rules on buy now, pay later loans since 15 July 2026 all sit alongside the promise.
What exactly has Very announced?
Very has described the new commitment as a Black Friday Price Promise. In the words of the announcement carried by Retail Times, it “guarantees the price customers pay on Black Friday offers will always be the cheapest, even if the same item is reduced further during its Black Friday event.” Retail Week, which reported the launch on Thursday lunchtime, described it as the retailer’s opening move of the golden quarter, the run of trading from October to December that decides most retailers’ year.
The mechanism is a refund of the difference, not an automatic adjustment. According to the announcement, if an eligible product bought during the Black Friday event is later reduced by Very before 4 December 2026, customers can contact Very Customer Services by that date and, “subject to the terms of the promise”, claim back the difference. In other words, the shopper has to notice the price drop and make the claim.
The promise sits on top of a second, longer-running commitment. Very says it is also offering customers an everyday price promise across thousands of products within its electricals and toys categories. The company has not, in the coverage published so far, set out how that everyday promise works in detail or how it differs from the Black Friday version.
Robbie Feather, chief executive of The Very Group, said in the company statement: “Our Price Promise is all about giving customers greater confidence that they’re getting the best deal. For Black Friday, we’re going even further.”
He added: “One of the biggest decisions customers face during Black Friday is deciding whether to buy now or wait to see if prices fall even further. Our Price Promise removes that uncertainty. Customers can shop our deals as soon as they see them, safe in the knowledge that if we reduce the price of an eligible product later in the event, they won’t miss out.”
The key terms at a glance
| Term | What Very has said | What is not yet clear |
|---|---|---|
| Event dates | 28 October to 4 December 2026 | Whether purchases made before 28 October are included |
| Products covered | Eligible Black Friday discounted products in all categories | How “eligible” lines are marked on the site |
| Trigger | A later price reduction by Very on the same item | Whether flash codes, bundles or Very Pay offers count as reductions |
| How to claim | Contact Very Customer Services | Whether online forms, chat or phone are accepted |
| Claim deadline | By 4 December 2026 | Whether a refund goes to the card, the Very account or as credit |
| Competitor prices | Not covered by the Black Friday promise | How the separate everyday promise on electricals and toys works |
The gaps in the right-hand column are worth stressing. The full terms of the promise sit on Very’s own website, and shoppers should read them before relying on it, particularly for expensive purchases such as televisions, laptops and large appliances.
How do you claim the difference if a Very price drops?
On the information Very has published, the process has three steps: buy an eligible Black Friday deal during the event, spot a later reduction on the same product, and contact customer services before the end of 4 December. Nothing in the announcement suggests that Very will track prices on a customer’s behalf and refund the difference automatically.
That puts the burden on the shopper. Anyone who buys a big-ticket item early in the sale and wants to use the promise needs a simple way of checking the price again before the deadline. The cheapest method is to bookmark the product page and look at it again on Black Friday itself, on Cyber Monday and in the first days of December, which is when retailers often make their final cuts.
A practical checklist for claiming
- Keep the order confirmation email, which records the date and the price you paid.
- Bookmark the exact product page, including the colour, size or storage option you bought, because a cut on a different variant may not count as the “same item”.
- Check the price again on Friday 27 November (Black Friday), Monday 30 November (Cyber Monday) and before 4 December.
- If the price falls, take a screenshot that shows the new price and the date.
- Contact Very Customer Services before the end of 4 December with your order number and the new price, and ask how and where the difference will be refunded.
Shoppers who pay with a Very Pay account should ask whether the difference will be credited to the account or refunded in another way, because that affects the balance on which interest may be charged. Very has not addressed that point in the announcement.
The promise is not the only way to benefit from a later price cut. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, most goods bought online in the UK can be cancelled for any reason within 14 days of delivery, with a refund due within 14 days of the retailer receiving the goods back. A shopper could, in principle, cancel an order and buy the same item again at the lower price.
In practice, that route is clumsy for bulky items, may involve return postage costs depending on the retailer’s policy, and depends on stock still being available. The value of a price promise is that it achieves the same result with a phone call or a message rather than a return. The two rights work in parallel, so the promise does not remove the cancellation right.
How does Very’s promise compare with Currys and other retailers?
Price promises have become a standard feature of the UK Black Friday season, partly because shoppers have learned that the first discount is not always the last. Currys, the UK’s largest electricals specialist, launched its Black Friday sale on 28 October and, according to Which?, has brought back its own Black Friday price guarantee. If a shopper buys a qualifying Currys Black Friday deal and the price drops again before December, Currys will refund the difference, provided the customer keeps the receipt and registers the purchase by 1 December 2026.
Currys has been gaining market share in a flat electricals market, as our report on Currys sales rising 7% under its new chief set out, and Very competes with it directly. Electricals made up 44.2% of The Very Group’s retail sales in its last financial year, so Very’s promise is aimed squarely at the same customers who are comparing televisions, laptops and kitchen appliances across both sites.
| Retailer | Scheme | What triggers a refund | Deadline | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very | Black Friday Price Promise | Very cuts the price of the same eligible item again | Claim by 4 December 2026 | All categories, eligible Black Friday lines |
| Very | Everyday price promise | Not detailed in the announcement | Ongoing | Thousands of electricals and toys |
| Currys | Black Friday price guarantee | Currys cuts the price of a qualifying deal again before December | Register by 1 December 2026 | Qualifying Black Friday deals |
| John Lewis | Price matching | A cheaper price at selected rival retailers, according to Which? | Varies | Matching against around 25 leading retailers, per Which? reporting |
The table shows two different kinds of protection. Very and Currys guard against their own later price cuts during a defined event. Price matching, the model John Lewis has long used, guards against a rival charging less. Which? has reported that John Lewis now uses artificial intelligence to match prices against around 25 leading retailers, including some online-only sellers, although shoppers should check the retailer’s current terms because the scheme has changed several times.
Very’s window is a little longer than Currys’. Currys requires registration by 1 December, the day after Cyber Monday; Very allows claims until 4 December. Those extra three days could matter, because some retailers make further reductions in the first week of December as the Black Friday branding gives way to Christmas promotions.
Very’s promise also has a broader category reach. Currys sells mainly electricals, while Very’s promise explicitly includes fashion, home, beauty, toys and sports. For a shopper buying a winter coat or a set of bedding in early November, a price promise on non-electrical goods is less common.
Does a price promise mean the Black Friday deal is genuine?
No. A price promise protects a shopper against paying more than someone who buys the same product later in the same sale. It says nothing about whether the Black Friday price is lower than the price in the summer, in the January sales or next spring.
The best evidence on that question comes from Which?. In research published on 25 November 2025, the consumer group tracked the prices of 175 home, tech and health appliances at eight retailers (Amazon, AO, Argos, Boots, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Very) for six months before and six months after the 2024 Black Friday sales. It found that 83% of products were the same price or cheaper on at least one occasion outside the four-week sales period, and that none of the deals was at its cheapest on Black Friday itself.
What Which? found at Very
Very’s figure was among the weakest in the study. Which? found that 93% of the Very deals it tracked were the same price or cheaper outside the sales period. One example it gave was a Dyson V11 Extra stick vacuum cleaner priced at £349 during Black Friday, which was the same price on 29 days before the sale and 41 days after it.
A spokesperson for The Very Group told Which? at the time: “We’re committed to delivering great value across our department store all year round.” Reena Sewraz, Which?’s retail editor, said the research exposed “the harsh truth: for the majority of shoppers, Black Friday is a false economy.”
| Retailer | Black Friday 2024 deals same price or cheaper at other times |
|---|---|
| John Lewis | 94% |
| Very | 93% |
| Amazon | 88% |
| AO | 85% |
| Currys | 84% |
| Argos | 79% |
| Richer Sounds | 55% |
Source: Which? analysis of 175 products tracked from May 2024 to May 2025, published 25 November 2025. The Black Friday sales period was defined as 15 November to 12 December 2024.
Read together, the two pieces of evidence point in the same direction. The new promise answers the “buy now or wait until Black Friday” dilemma inside the sale, but it does not answer the bigger question of whether to buy in the sale at all. Shoppers who are not in a hurry can still use price history tools and the retailer’s own past prices to judge whether a discount is real.
Why is Very making this promise now?
The timing reflects three pressures: regulators, rivals and the state of the household budget.
On regulation, this is the first Black Friday since the CMA started fining retailers directly under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. On 14 October the regulator fined the homeware retailer Wayfair £4.8 million and the electricals seller Appliances Direct £1.2 million over offers that were presented as time-limited but were not, and ordered Appliances Direct to refund about £432,000 to customers who were opted into paid extras. Our guide to the UK rules on fake countdown deals explains what those cases mean for this year’s sales.
The CMA can now fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover for breaching consumer law, without first going to court. Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s senior director for consumer protection, said in the regulator’s October press release that “the time is up for this kind of behaviour”. A promise that the first Black Friday price will not be undercut later by the same retailer is, among other things, a way of showing that the discount is not a pressure tactic.
The ASA has also been watching
Advertising rules add a second layer. In May 2026 the ASA ruled that Black Friday adverts run by John Lewis, Boots and Debenhams in the run-up to Black Friday 2025 had misled shoppers, according to coverage by BM Magazine and Nation.Cymru. In one John Lewis case, a MacBook Air was advertised with a £150 saving against a former price of £849, but third-party pricing data suggested the higher price had applied only briefly. A Boots fragrance cut from £80 to £60 and Debenhams banners promising discounts of “up to 44%” were also found to be unsubstantiated.
BM Magazine reported that the ASA’s AI-assisted monitoring of pricing claims had already produced action against travel firms and against Very over similar pricing claims, although its report did not give details of the Very adverts involved. The ASA’s message, as reported, was that promotional events such as Black Friday do not exempt retailers from the rules, and that any advertised saving must be provable against a genuine usual selling price.
Shoppers are also more price-sensitive than a year ago. The British Retail Consortium reported that UK shop price inflation rose to 2.1% in October, its highest level in about two and a half years, with food inflation at 2.9% and non-food inflation at 1.7%. Our report on UK shop price inflation reaching 2.1% explains which categories are rising fastest, including furniture, flooring and DIY.
When prices are rising, shoppers are more likely to delay purchases in the hope of a better deal, which is exactly the hesitation Feather described. A retailer that can persuade customers to buy early also spreads its demand across more weeks, which eases pressure on warehouses and delivery networks during the busiest days of the year.
What does the promise tell us about Very’s business?
Very is one of the UK’s largest online-only retailers and, unusually, one with a large consumer credit business attached. The group, which also owns Littlewoods, reported the highest earnings in its history for the year to 27 June 2026, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (before securitisation interest) up 3.4% to £317.5m. Revenue, though, was flat at £2.09bn. Our report on The Very Group’s record £317.5m earnings sets out how home and credit carried the year while fashion fell.
Three features of those results help explain why a Black Friday price promise makes sense for Very in particular. First, electricals are 44.2% of group retail sales, the category where Black Friday hesitation is strongest because the purchases are expensive and the discounts are heavily advertised. Second, Very UK revenue grew 1.3% to £1.86bn, but fashion and sports fell 4.6%, so the company needs to give shoppers reasons to buy across categories, not only in electricals. Third, the group’s credit business, Very Finance, earned £464.5m of revenue, and Drapers has reported that customer credit accounts for around 90% of sales made through the business.
That last point matters for shoppers. Many Very customers buy on a Very Pay account and spread the cost, and the group reported that more customers chose 12-month payment plans rather than six-month ones in its last financial year. Since 15 July 2026, most buy now, pay later products in the UK have been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which means lenders must check affordability and give borrowers clearer information.
A price promise does not change the cost of credit. A shopper who buys a £600 television on a credit account and later claims back £50 will want to know whether the refund reduces the balance immediately, and whether any interest already charged on the higher amount is adjusted. Those are reasonable questions to put to customer services when making a claim.
The Very Group has been controlled by Carlyle, the US private equity firm, since November 2025. In September 2026 Carlyle reportedly halted a sale process after bidders would not meet a £2bn asking price. For customers, ownership changes nothing about the promise or their statutory rights, which apply regardless of who owns the retailer.
What should shoppers check before buying on Very this Black Friday?
The promise is useful, but only if shoppers use it carefully. The points below apply to any Black Friday purchase, not only on Very.
- Check the eligibility label. The promise covers “eligible” Black Friday lines. Look for how Very marks those products on the product page and keep a screenshot.
- Look at the seller. Large department stores increasingly host products from third-party brands and partners. Check whether the product is sold and dispatched by Very itself, because terms may differ for partner sellers.
- Compare the price history. A guarantee against a later cut is not a guarantee of good value. Check whether the item was cheaper in the summer or earlier in the autumn.
- Read the delivery terms. Very has been trialling free home delivery on orders over £75 and has added access to around 15,000 InPost lockers, according to its results. Delivery charges can wipe out a small discount.
- Diarise the deadline. Claims must be made by 4 December. Put a reminder in your phone for the days after Cyber Monday.
- Keep everything in writing. Order confirmations, screenshots of the new price and the reference number of your claim are your evidence if a refund is disputed.
Paying by credit card for a single item costing between £100 and £30,000 gives the shopper Section 75 protection under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which makes the card provider jointly liable if something goes wrong with the purchase. Debit cards are covered by the voluntary chargeback scheme instead, which has time limits and is less certain. Neither is designed to recover a price difference under a retailer’s promise, but both are valuable if goods do not arrive or turn out to be faulty.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a shopper who receives a faulty product also has a short-term right to reject it within 30 days for a full refund. That right applies to sale goods as much as to full-price ones, and a Black Friday discount does not reduce it.
When is Black Friday 2026, and what are the key dates?
Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday 27 November, the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday. Cyber Monday, the online-focused end of the sales weekend, is on Monday 30 November. In practice, the label now covers a season of more than five weeks, and Very’s own event runs from 28 October to 4 December.
For anyone buying presents, the Black Friday window also overlaps with the Christmas delivery calendar. Royal Mail has set its last recommended posting dates for 2026, with second class on Friday 18 December, first class on Monday 21 December and Special Delivery Guaranteed on Wednesday 23 December. Our guide to Royal Mail’s Christmas 2026 posting dates lists every deadline, including Parcelforce and the courier services sold at Post Office counters.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 28 October | Very, Currys, AO.com and Boots Black Friday events begin |
| Thursday 29 October | Very announces its Black Friday Price Promise |
| Friday 27 November | Black Friday |
| Monday 30 November | Cyber Monday |
| Tuesday 1 December | Deadline to register purchases for the Currys price guarantee |
| Friday 4 December | Very’s Black Friday event ends; last day to claim under the Very promise |
| Friday 18 December | Royal Mail last recommended posting date for second class |
What could go wrong, and what are the limits of the promise?
The promise is a voluntary commercial offer, not a legal right, so its value depends on the terms Very has set and on how it handles claims. Shoppers should be aware of several limits that follow directly from the way the scheme has been described.
First, the trigger is a reduction by Very, not a lower price elsewhere. If the same television is cheaper at Currys, Argos or Amazon on Black Friday, the Very promise does not apply. Second, the reduction must be on the same item, which may exclude a different colour or a bundle that includes the product. Third, claims made after 4 December fall outside the promise, even if the price falls on 5 December.
Prices on large retail websites can change several times a day, especially during sales. A shopper who sees a lower price briefly may find it has gone by the time they contact customer services, which is why a dated screenshot is important. It is also possible that a lower price appears only for a limited quantity, or only through a particular promotion such as a discount code, and the terms will decide whether that counts.
None of these limits is unusual. Retailer price guarantees have always carried conditions, and the Currys guarantee requires registration by a fixed date for similar reasons. What matters is that the conditions are clear before a customer relies on them, and that the retailer honours claims promptly.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act also bans a range of unfair commercial practices, including misleading statements about prices and the use of false urgency. A price promise that was advertised in a way that misled shoppers about what they would get back could itself attract scrutiny. That is one reason retailers have become more careful about wording “price promise” and “price guarantee” schemes, and why the small print deserves a read.
What does this mean for the rest of UK online retail?
Very’s move is likely to increase pressure on other retailers to explain how they will treat shoppers who buy early. The Black Friday season is now so long, with Currys, AO.com and Boots all opening on 28 October, that a customer buying in the first week may wait four weeks to see whether the price falls. Without some form of guarantee, many will simply hold off.
For retailers, that hesitation is costly. Demand bunches into the final weekend, delivery networks are stretched and warehouses face a sharp peak. A price promise encourages earlier buying and smooths the curve, and the cost to the retailer depends on how often it actually cuts prices a second time. Retailers that plan their Black Friday prices carefully, and do not make large second-round reductions, pay out little.
There is also a wider trend in the way UK retailers market Black Friday. Several have moved away from headline percentage discounts, which the ASA and the CMA have scrutinised closely, towards promises about fairness: that a price will not fall again, that it was not cheaper in the previous six months, or that the retailer will match a rival. Currys made a “lowest price in six months” pledge for Black Friday 2024, and Which? found that it kept it.
For shoppers, that shift is welcome, but it does not replace the basic discipline of knowing what an item normally costs. The most useful outcome of Very’s announcement may be that it reminds customers to keep their receipts, check prices again before 4 December and ask for money back when it is due.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Very Black Friday Price Promise?
It is a commitment by Very that if an eligible Black Friday discounted product you buy during its Black Friday event is later reduced further by Very, you can claim back the difference. The event runs from 28 October to 4 December 2026, and claims must be made through Very Customer Services by 4 December, subject to the terms of the promise.
Do I get the money back automatically?
Not on the information published so far. The announcement says customers can contact Very Customer Services to claim back the difference, which means you need to spot the lower price yourself and make the claim before the deadline.
Which products are covered?
Very says the promise covers eligible Black Friday discounted products across all categories, including fashion, electricals, toys, home, beauty and sports. Check the product page and the full terms on Very’s website to confirm whether a specific item is eligible.
Does Very match a cheaper price at Currys or Amazon?
The Black Friday Price Promise does not. It applies only when Very itself reduces the price of the same item again. Very has also announced a separate everyday price promise on thousands of electricals and toys, but it has not set out the detailed terms of that scheme in the coverage published so far.
How is this different from the Currys price guarantee?
Both refund the difference if the retailer cuts the price of a qualifying Black Friday deal again. According to Which?, Currys requires customers to keep the receipt and register the purchase by 1 December 2026. Very allows claims until 4 December and covers all categories, not just electricals.
Can I just cancel my order and buy again at the lower price?
Usually, yes. Most goods bought online can be cancelled within 14 days of delivery under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. However, returning bulky items is inconvenient, you may have to pay return postage depending on the retailer’s policy, and the product may sell out, so a price promise claim is often simpler.
Does the promise mean the Black Friday price is the cheapest of the year?
No. It only protects you against a further cut by Very during the Black Friday event. Which? found that 93% of the Very deals it tracked around Black Friday 2024 were the same price or cheaper at other times in the surrounding year.
What if I bought on a Very Pay account?
The promise still applies to eligible products, but Very has not said in its announcement how refunds will be handled on credit accounts. Ask customer services whether the difference will be credited to your account balance and whether any interest charged on the higher price will be adjusted.
When is Black Friday 2026 in the UK?
Black Friday is on Friday 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday is on Monday 30 November 2026. Many retailers, including Very, Currys, AO.com and Boots, began their Black Friday events on 28 October, and Very’s runs until 4 December.