Attack Black Friday shopping with a plan
Friday after American Thanksgiving does not have to be a wild free-for-all
The days of wild shoppers running over one another to snap up Black Friday deals are largely a memory now as both online availability and a longer shopping window are mainstays.
Still, deal-watchers say it’s easy for shoppers to get caught up in the frenzy if they go into Black Friday blindly. The No. 1 step to take is planning.
“Have a shopping list and budget, and stick to them. The most important thing you can do is to do your research and have a plan. This way you know you’re getting a good deal ... and you won’t have to think twice when you see a deal. That can mean the difference between getting a good price and having it sell out too quickly,” says Benjamin Glaser, features editor at DealNews.
It’s easier than ever to do research ahead of Black Friday as more stores are “leaking” sales circulars, allowing shoppers to compare prices. Many shopping websites are also compiling links or PDFs of the flyers, simplifying research.
Preparing also keeps shoppers from succumbing to impulse buys, especially for those who still go to physical stores.
“Being in a crowd and having everyone else around trying to buy things kind of urges you to buy,” says Ivy Chou, director of content and marketing at DealsPlus.
Going to the store isn’t really necessary anymore. With rare exceptions, virtually everything in stores is available online too, says Rene Kirschbaum, director of content and marketing at BlackFriday.fm.
Those leaked circulars will state if a deal is only in stores, he adds.
Glaser notes that while some retailers have a few Black Friday sales at the start of American Thanksgiving week, except for a few select instances, the real deals start on U.S. Thanksgiving Day.
Shoppers need to be wary of retailers trying to make an item look as if it’s a good deal by what he calls “fake discounting.” Retailers might suggest an unrealistically high list price that is never charged but then sell the item at a regular price and claim it’s a huge discount off the list price.
“That’s when you do your research and know what items actually cost and not what the store says it costs.”
Many Black Friday deals go live by midnight Eastern time just before U.S. Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24 this year), so online shoppers theoretically can buy everything they want before they even start cooking the big meal, Kirschbaum says.
It’s worth checking online sites on the 24th, Glaser says, because in the past several years that’s when stores have had the best discounts.
When it comes to shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, there’s not a lot of difference in what’s on sale, the shopping experts say.
It’s harder to predict what might be featured on Cyber Monday since those deals are generally not leaked, Kirschbaum says.
Glaser says DealNews’ research shows better deals on clothing and shoes on Cyber Monday, while televisions, laptops and home appliances are usually featured on Black Friday. Toys are rarely discounted during this time. Instead, he recommends that toy shoppers wait until the second week of December to buy.
This year, the shopping experts say to expect substantial discounts on Black Friday on high-end 4K TVs, streaming devices and gaming consoles.
The main piece of advice Glaser has for shoppers this season is to relax.
“Don’t go crazy trying to buy door busters on Friday. Don’t buy something because you think you won’t get a better deal. If you didn’t get something on Black Friday or don’t see a price you were expecting, you generally can get a second chance on Cyber Monday. The worst that can happen is you get at least a decent deal, if not a great deal.”
Have a shopping list and budget, and stick to them. BENJAMIN GLASER EDITOR AT DEALNEWS