The fake discount barometer
A crossed-out price does not tell you whether you are getting a deal. This barometer compares, across the whole tracked catalog, the discount displayed by the retailer with the real discount against the product’s usual price.
Computed on September 7, 2026 over 783 purchasable products tracked daily.
How it is computed
For each product, DeaLynx records the price every day and computes its usual price: the median of displayed prices over six months, weighted by how long each price stayed online, outlier readings excluded. A “displayed” promo is a product whose retailer shows a list price above today’s price.
A promo counts as fake when today’s price stays at 98% or more of the usual price: the announced discount saves nothing versus what the product usually costs. It counts as real when today’s price is at least 5% below the usual price. In between, the discount is marginal.
By category
| Category | Tracked products | Displayed promos | Share of real discounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Électroménager | 121 | 6 | 50 % |
| Maison & Déco | 80 | 7 | 71 % |
| Informatique | 64 | 11 | 55 % |
| Téléphonie | 53 | 8 | 50 % |
| Jeux & Jouets | 50 | 3 | — |
| Jardin & Bricolage | 44 | 1 | — |
| Sport & Loisirs | 38 | 2 | — |
| Image & Son | 38 | 8 | 13 % |
| Beauté & Santé | 36 | 1 | — |
| Jeux vidéo | 25 | 9 | 67 % |
| Bébé & Puériculture | 25 | 1 | — |
| Animalerie | 22 | 0 | — |
| Mode & Accessoires | 21 | 0 | — |
| Auto & Moto | 15 | 0 | — |
| Cuisine | 12 | 1 | — |
| Alimentation | 12 | 1 | — |
Journalist, creator, consumer association: this data may be freely quoted with a link to this page, and we can provide category or retailer breakdowns on request.