The US-imported tradition of Black Friday deals has been wasted in Cyprus, the small shopkeeper’s association head said on Friday, while consumer watchdogs warned shoppers to be street-smart about misleading deals.

“Black Friday was supposed to mark a single day, to set off the official start of the Christmas season, and its intention was to offer better prices to jump-start the mood for Christmas shopping,” head of the small shopkeeper’s association Stephanos Koursaris told the CyBC.

However, in Cyprus the concept had been degraded, he said, due to the fact that sales and offers start weeks before, which weakens the gambit.

Koursaris said the problem for small-scale retailers hinges on the fact that since 2006 there is no regulation of sales periods, something which exists in 19 of the 27 EU member states. Prior to 2006, sales were only allowed in January and August and were limited to a strict period of 45 days.

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Currently, any retailer can advertise a sale at any given time and therefore “we won’t witness the long queues outside shops,” Koursaris said.

However, in tandem, the phenomenon of genuine deals of 80 per cent off or more, would also not hit the Cyprus market, he added.

However photographs in Turkish Cypriot media showed huge queues at the Ayios Dometios crossing point which were put down to people looking for bargains in the south.

Consumer associations, meanwhile, have warned shoppers of unscrupulous sellers and false advertising.

This could range from markdowns which are outright lies with the original price simply printed on the sales placard, to true discounts being lower than presented, to hiked-up prices just prior to Black Friday making the original price look like a discount.

Another ploy to watch for is deals announced for an item which is then said to be “out of stock” at the shop and is used simply as a means to bring customers through the door.

The consumer associations also warned the public of similar practices online, and advised making careful price comparisons, and being wary of deals which seem too good to be true.