Black Friday sales are everywhere. Judging by retailers' advertisements stuffed with language like "must-have deals" and "can't-miss epic finds," you'd be led to believe that every deal is too good to pass up.
But what actually makes a Black Friday deal worth pursuing? An item's reduced price, availability and affordability are key elements.
Here's what to consider before you buy.
THE ITEM IS SELLING AT THE BEST PRICE
Prices fluctuate throughout the year, making it difficult to recognize whether the deal being offered is actually the best of the best. Most people couldn't say exactly how much a particular air fryer sold for two weeks ago or two months ago, and whether that differs from the price today.
"Things that you buy every week, you notice the price going up. Where if it's something you buy maybe once a year or not very often, like a pair of shoes, you don't know what price is normal or what it was the last time," says Martin Block , professor emeritus in Medill's integrated marketing communications program at Northwestern University.
What can you do to become a better judge? Start tracking prices now, says John Boyd, co-founder of ShopSavvy, a price comparison app. Using an app to explore a product's price history can help you see through retailers' marketing tactics.
"Sometimes a good sale is really hard to detect because you're just being bombarded with 'Oh, we've got this great sale and it's X percent off or Y percent off,' and there's no context at all," Boyd says.
Get familiar with prices in the days leading up to Black Friday, Nov. 25 this year. ShopSavvy and other shopping tools, like PayPal Honey, can also alert you to price drops for specific items and compare prices across retailers so you can find the best deals.
FILE - Black Friday shoppers wearing face masks shop at the Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Nov. 26, 2021. Black Friday sales are everywhere. But what actually makes a Black Friday deal worth pursuing? An item’s reduced price, availability and affordability are key elements. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)
IT'S IN STOCK
Sometimes getting the gift on your list is more important than getting the deepest discount. The 2021 holiday shopping season proved that deals aren't guaranteed to last: Widespread supply chain snags and surging demand resulted in inventory shortages and shipping delays. Many experts believe supply issues won't be as prevalent this year. However, popular items could still fly off shelves.
"Certain toys, for example consoles and certain games more than likely, they'll sell out quickly," says G. Tony Bell , an assistant professor in the department of supply chain management at Rutgers Business School. "So I would say, definitely buy early. The price advantage in buying later than buying earlier is going to be minimal at best."
Shopping early could be the right move even if the product you want significantly drops in price after you buy.
"Most stores will let you either return or give you credit if it goes on sale within a certain number of days," says Debra Radway, a certified financial planner and teaching associate professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Explore retailers' return, exchange and price adjustment policies before you shop so you know what to expect.
IT FITS YOUR BUDGET
Most importantly, a Black Friday deal should fit into your budget. A TV that's in stock and on sale for 99% off still isn't worth buying if the remaining 1% is out of your price range.
As Bell simply puts it: "Buy what you can afford."
Bell cautions against taking on new credit for Black Friday purchases — such as credit cards or installment loans known as buy now, pay later plans — because of the potential interest charges or impact on your credit score if you're unable to repay.
And that's a real possibility: According to a 2022 Holiday Shopping Report from NerdWallet, 31% of holiday shoppers who used a credit card to buy gifts in 2021 are still carrying debt.
"Putting together a list of who you want to buy for, for the holidays, and setting a budget before you go out shopping will really help to control your spending over the holiday season," Radway says.
However, bear in mind that it's OK to skip Black Friday sales altogether. Your loved ones may value something homemade, like cookies or a heartfelt card, just as much as a flashy new gift from a store. And you get to save some money. That's a pretty sweet deal.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Lauren Schwahn is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: lschwahn@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lauren_schwahn.
METHODOLOGY:
The 2022 Holiday Shopping Report was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from Sept. 15-19, 2022, among 2,075 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,751 plan to purchase gifts this holiday season (2022 holiday shoppers). The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
NerdWallet. (November, 2022). "2022 Holiday Shopping Report." https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-2022-holiday-shopping-report
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5 ways to save this holiday shopping season
Preparing for Black Friday and the holiday season shopping
Updated
This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be longer, pricier and in some ways more chaotic than in previous years, which makes it easy to overspend. But there are also opportunities for significant savings if you know where and how to search for them.
“There are supply chain issues, inflation, major retailers reducing inventory — when you put all of that together, it looks like a recipe for disaster,” says Jill Cataldo, a consumer coupon expert based in Chicago. Her solution? “I started shopping now. If you see something and it looks like a good deal, it’s time to pick it up.”
That’s because while prices are higher overall, retailers have already launched the holiday deal season, spreading out discounts and sales over the final three months of the year. Given that complicated background, here are the best ways to save money this Black Friday season:
1. Shop early and often
Updated
It might sound counterintuitive, but starting early can ease the impact on your budget and allow you to score the best deals. “I watch prices, see which retailer is offering the best price and always look for coupons before I buy — anything is better than paying full price,” Cataldo says. When she makes an early purchase, she keeps the receipt handy in case the price drops and the retailer offers a price match.
2. Be relentless about comparing prices
Updated
Apps, browser extensions and other tools that will help you track and compare prices abound; you just have to pick the one that you like using most. You can find choices that scour the web in the background while you shop and alert you to lower prices, coupon codes and cash-back opportunities.
For example, the shopping app ShopSavvy will follow price changes on specific items. John Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Monolith Technologies, which owns ShopSavvy, says he uses that feature for things he has his eye on, like a digital single-lens reflex camera. “I want to get an alert the second those things get marked down, because it might only be on sale for a few minutes and then the quantity runs out,” he says.
The Camelizer app performs a similar function for Amazon prices specifically.
Greg Lisiewski, vice president of PayPal Shopping , which includes the shopping browser extension Honey, says when he wants to buy something, he looks up the retailer in the PayPal app to see if any discounts are available (under the “Deals” section).
Those discounts are especially valuable now because PayPal Honey reports that toys and games are 11% more expensive this year compared with last year, coffee machines have increased 7%, and cycling gear and equipment is up 9%. The company also reports that the biggest discounts this holiday season have been in cosmetics, musical instruments and general department stores.
3. Layer on coupon codes and cash back
Updated
Getting a good deal isn’t only about price: You can add on other savings with coupon codes and cash-back offers.
Cataldo takes advantage of cash-back offers, which are available through apps like Rakuten, CouponCabin and Ibotta. “It’s just one extra step if you are going to buy online, and then you receive a check,” she says. “I like things that are easy, and that’s very easy.”
Scott Kluth, founder and CEO of CouponCabin, says stores with excess inventory will often have discounts of 10% to 15%, and cash-back offers range from 3% to 20%. “Stack all of those savings on top of each other,” he says, adding that sometimes online retailers accept multiple coupon codes plus provide free shipping.
5. Talk to friends and family about scaling back
Updated
With so many people feeling the strain of rising prices, it’s a good year to talk with family and friends about setting limits. For Sarah Schweisthal, social media manager at the budgeting app You Need a Budget, that means creating a gift exchange with family members so each person purchases just one gift within an agreed-on spending cap. “We used to all buy gifts for each other, but there are a lot of adults in our family. It just took one of us to say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t feel sustainable,’” she says.
Schweisthal estimates that the gift exchange approach has saved her family hundreds of dollars — and this year especially, that’s more important than ever.
4. Get to know your local stores
Updated
Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, a retail research and advisory firm, says that getting to know your local stores and attending in-person events can be the way to score the biggest deals. “Store managers are being given the ability to negotiate and price match or price beat,” she says, especially when they have excess inventory in stock.
She suggests joining livestreams, following your favorite brands on social media and signing up for brand loyalty programs to be the first to hear about discounts or sales. “Some codes are only good for 24 hours and some prices are only good for four hours,” she says, so if you want the best deals, be ready to move quickly.
