The uncomfortable truth about deals
Retailers employ teams of psychologists and pricing experts to make you spend more. "Was £10, now £7" is compelling — but was it really £10? And is £7 actually a good price? Learning to see through pricing tactics is one of the most valuable shopping skills you can develop.
Know the normal price
The best defence against fake deals is simply knowing what things normally cost. If you buy chicken breasts every week, you know that £5 per kilo is standard and £3.50 is genuinely cheap. CatalogFlix helps here — you can browse expired leaflets to track how prices have moved over recent weeks.
Ignore the percentage, check the price
"50% off" sounds incredible. But 50% off an inflated price is just... a normal price. Always check the final price against competitors rather than fixating on the discount percentage. A 20% discount at one store might still be more expensive than full price at another.
Watch out for shrinkflation
Sometimes the price stays the same but the pack gets smaller. A bag of crisps that was 150g last year might be 130g now at the same price — that is effectively a 13% price increase. Always check the weight and the price-per-kilo label.
Multi-buy traps
"3 for £5" sounds like savings, but do you actually need three? If you only need one and it costs £2, buying three means spending £3 more than you needed to. Multi-buys only save money if you were going to buy that quantity anyway.
Time your big purchases
Electronics are cheapest during Black Friday and January sales. Garden furniture drops in September. Winter coats are reduced in February. If you can wait for the right moment, you will get the same item for significantly less. Browse CatalogFlix regularly to spot when prices drop.
The one question that matters
Before any purchase, ask yourself: "Would I buy this at full price?" If the answer is no, the deal is not saving you money — it is costing you money on something you did not need.
Use CatalogFlix as your price radar
CatalogFlix brings together leaflets from dozens of UK retailers. Browse them weekly, build familiarity with normal prices, and you will start spotting genuine bargains instinctively. The expired leaflets archive is particularly useful — it gives you a price history that no single store will provide.