Ultimate Holiday Shopping Guide

This living topic provides a comprehensive guide to the holiday shopping season, focusing primarily on the extensive deals and promotional events leading up to and including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It covers a range of major retailers like Kohl's, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Macy's, detailing their sales strategies, special offers, and exclusive discounts. It also offers insights into consumer behavior, including tips on what to buy, when to buy, and potential pitfalls to avoid. Additionally, it touches on other themed shopping days such as Travel Tuesday and ongoing sales throughout December, making it a valuable resource for consumers looking to maximize their holiday savings.

Article Timeline

Newest
  • Newest
  • Oldest
Article Image

BJ's members can get a free turkey this Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving and Black Friday right around the corner, BJ’s Wholesale Club is offering members special promotions to celebrate both occasions. 

In honor of Thanksgiving, BJ’s members will have the opportunity to score a free turkey for their holiday dinner. 

Then, to help members get a head start on holiday shopping, BJ’s will offer early Black Friday deals through November 16. 

Get your free turkey by November 9

If you’re looking to score a free turkey from BJ’s, you need to spend at least $150 between now and November 9. Shoppers can choose whether they want to order online or head to the store to spend their $150, but the total of one order must reach or exceed that figure. 

Once orders are completed, members will receive a digital coupon for a free frozen or fresh turkey. The coupon will appear in your digital coupon gallery – either on the BJ’s website or in the mobile app. 

Members then have until November 22 to redeem their coupon for a free turkey. Coupons can be redeemed for pickup, same-day delivery, or in-store purchases. 

“We are proud to continue our tradition of free Thanksgiving turkeys,” said David Rajkovich, BJ’s vice president of food merchandising. “We always provide unbeatable value, and our free turkeys provide another way for families to save on their Thanksgiving celebrations.” 

BJ’s brick and mortar locations will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, and will reopen on Black Friday, November 24, at 7:00 a.m. local time. 

Save on early Black FriYAY Deals

Ahead of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, BJ’s has ongoing early Black FriYAY sales, so members can save on holiday favorites early this year. Now through November 16, BJ’s is offering exclusive sales and low prices on electronics, toys, home essentials, and more for members. 

Some of the early Black Friday deals include: 

  • $60 off small appliances

    • Chefman TurboFry Touch 8-Qt. Air Fryer: $49.99 (originally $119.99)

  • 40% off TVs

    • LG 65” OLEDC3 EVO 4K UHD ThinQ AI Smart TV with Five-Year Coverage: $1,599.99 (after $900 off) 

    • Samsung 65” QN85CD Neo QLED 4K Smart TV with Your Choice Subscription and 5-Year Coverage: $1,297.99 (after $702 off)  

    • VIZIO 50” V-Series LED 4K HDR Smart TV with 4-Year Coverage: $249.99 (after $50 off) 

  • 20% off Sealy mattresses

    • Sealy Queen 3” Gel Memory Foam Mattress Topper: $119.99

  • $50 off artificial Christmas trees

    • Berkley Jensen 7.5’ Frasier Fir One-Plug Color Changing Lighted Tree: $199.99

  • $80 off refrigeration 

  • $20 off toy purchases of $100 or more, including brands: Hot Wheels, Disney, Barbie, Nerf, Melissa & Doug, and more

    • Nintendo Super Mario Deluxe Mushroom Castle Playset with 5 Figures: $34.99

    • Hot Wheels City Transforming Race Tower: $29.99

    • PicassoTiles 102-Pc. Magnetic Tile Construction Play Set: $19.99 (after 50% off)

  • 50% off select Berkley Jensen brand toys 

    • 55-Pc. Wooden Ice Cream Stand: $79.99 (after 50% off)

    • 34” Plush Animal, Assorted Designs: $19.99 

“As smart-saving families search for the best deals this holiday season, we want them to know they are getting unbeatable value and outstanding quality when shopping at BJ’s,” said Rachel Vegas, chief merchandising officer. “Our early Black FriYAY event makes it easy for members to deck their halls and discover amazing gifts at prices that can’t be beat.” 

The early Black FriYAY sales at BJ’s are available both online and in-store, as well as for pickup and delivery orders. 

With Thanksgiving and Black Friday right around the corner, BJ’s Wholesale Club is offering members special promotions to celebrate both occasions. In...

Article Image

Introducing 'Way Day' – Wayfair’s version of Black Friday

It’s not Amazon Prime Day. It’s not Black Friday. But it sure wants to be.

That would be Wayfair’s “Way Day.” Running for the next 48 hours – through Apr 27, 2023 – Way Day is built around Wayfair’s idea of deep discounts -- up to 80% off -- on furniture, appliances, and home decor.

The best deals according to RetailMeNot’s team of shopping experts are area rugs and wall art (up to 80% off); and bedding, cookware & bakeware, curtains & drapes, kitchen faucets, mattresses, and tableware (60% off).

Discounts tier down from there and include:

  • Up to 50% off bathroom vanities, bedroom furniture, entryway furniture, hardware and flooring, home office, kids bedroom, lighting, living room seating, mirrors & decor, TV stands and living room tables, outdoor furniture, outdoor lighting & decor and outdoor fireplaces.

  • Up to 40% off kitchen & dining furniture, nursery, pet, small appliances, storage and organization and outdoor upgrades.

  • Up to 30% off major appliances, outdoor grills and more.

Why is Wayfair's sale different than others

When ConsumerAffairs asked RetailMeNot's shopping expert Kristin McGrath where does Wayfair's sale stacks up against other doorbuster sales, she had this to say.

"You're likely to see a lot of similar deals at all these mega sales and a wide swath of products marked down. The question is whether you want to wait for Prime Day and Target Deal Days in the summer or shop right now. What makes Wayfair unique is the selection of home products it has, from furniture, down to very specific faucets and rugs for every aesthetic. These days, the retail industry is such that these mega sales are all compelling."

Boilng that down, McGrath says to take these comparisons into account:

Prime Day is a better time to shop for technology, especially Amazon products. And it tends to send other retailers into competition mode, so it's almost like Black Friday in the summer.

Target Deal Days tends to focus on clothing, beauty, food and household. However, it doesn't have the selection of rugs and household fixtures Wayfair has. 

Wayfair is focused on the home and home decor. And it takes place in spring, which can be advantageous if you're looking for outdoor furniture for summer. 

Choosing the "right" sale

Sales are sales for one reason -- because the Targets, the Amazons, the Walmarts, and now, the Wayfairs need to get rid of stuff. And to do that, they'll throw big-eyed discounts at the consumer to try and get them to buy regardless of whether they need it or not.

At that point, McGrath says that shoppers should look themselves in the mirror and ask what do they really need and when do they need to buy it.

"If you sorely need new patio chairs for this summer, for example, a deal in the spring during Way Day is going to be more advantageous than a deal late in the summer," she said.

She suggests that for popular, name-brand items, shoppers can look up the price history before they buy it using a price history tool like CamelCamelCamel to assess the strength of the deal.

"That way you can know if something is at one of its best prices ever – and take advantage if so," McGrath said, "If you need something, chances are it's going on sale in the near future. If what you need right now is home goods/decor, it's going on sale at Wayfair for Way Day."

It’s not Amazon Prime Day. It’s not Black Friday. But it sure wants to be.That would be Wayfair’s “Way Day.” Running for the next 48 hours – through Ap...

Article Image

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have gone away, are there any bargains still left?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have been officially crossed off the consumer’s calendar, but the shelves aren’t as empty as some retailers might like them to be. So, what does a retailer do in a situation like this? Mark down more stuff!

As to what prices are coming down, what prices are going up, and what to wait another month or so to buy, consider that research done. Here's what ConsumerAffairs found:

Where prices are coming down

The best deals that Bankrate’s Sarah Foster said she found are smartphones – down in price by 22.9%. And if you’re looking for a combo deal, Cricket Wireless has one for value-conscious holiday shoppers.

Customers who bring their number to Cricket can get iPhone SE (2nd Generation) 64GB for $0 when they activate a new line on the $60/month unlimited plan. There’s some requisite fine print with the deal, but it may be worth looking into.

Electronics aren’t a Black Friday staple like they used to be, so there are good deals there as well -- televisions (-16.5%) as well as computers and devices (-3.1%).

There’s also one more big-time sales day – Green Monday. DealNews reports that on December 12, retailers are expected to offer discounts ranging from 20% to 60% off. Categories on sale will include electronics, home improvement, and clothing. 

“Of course, since eBay basically invented Green Monday, you won't want to miss their sale. Last year, they discounted apparel, tools, headphones, holiday gifts, and other items during their event,” Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with DealNews, said.

Neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot are showing their Green Monday cards yet but Ramhold said if those two go the same route as they did in 2021, there could be a 10% increase in the number of tool deals overall.

If you’re a bargain hunter, you can forget traveling, bedding, lingerie, and exercise equipment – at least for a while

Travel? Not a good deal right now. Bankrate says airfare is up 42.9% as well as other forms of transportation and the gas it takes to get there, too. In addition, the price of staying overnight could add up, with hotel stays up 6.4% compared to last year.

That could translate into some big bucks. When travel insurer SquareMouth added travel costs together, it found that the average two-week vacation is now around $6,784 – 57% higher than the average trip cost as of Fall 2022 and 28% higher than the Summer 2022 average. 

However, as Bankrate analyst Sarah Foster told ConsumerAffairs, there is one way that consumers could save some money on travel – points!

“Consumers are often sitting on a stockpile of credit card rewards —'free' money that can only be put to use if it is, in fact, used,” she said.

Foster recommends utilizing any credit card rewards points to fund some of that travel.

While it expects some clothing deals on Green Tuesday, DealNews says that shoppers looking for winter clothing should wait until January or February when retailers have got more wooly, warm’y stuff on their racks than they’d like. 

Traditionally, January is also a good time to buy bedding, and because of the influx of health-related resolutions, there’s a decent amount of deals on exercise equipment and gym memberships in January.

And those whose tastes run to the intimate and frilly might want to wait until the end of December. That’s when the Victoria's Secret Sale goes live. It’s expected to run for at least a couple of weeks into January.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have been officially crossed off the consumer’s calendar, but the shelves aren’t as empty as some retailers might like th...

Article Image

Are there any huge Black Friday discounts left? ConsumerAffairs did its homework and here’s what we found.

There’s been so many pre-Black Friday sales going on and so much sell-off attempted in the last few months because of overstock issues, is there anything special about Black Friday anymore?

When ConsumerAffairs went looking for the answer, the pickings were indeed slim. 

“​​All retailers are competing for attention and if there is anything left it would be a very small quantity. Most likely, if you're looking for something specific, there's nothing left,” Hannah Nash, co-founder of LucyNash, told ConsumerAffairs.

Nash said that the options aren’t as robust as they have been on Black Fridays in the past but retailers are offering significant discounts in order to attract new customers and clear inventory. 

ConsumerAffairs took Nash’s advice and went hunting for big discounts to see what might be left.

Here’s what we found… 

Retailers that have the most and largest discounts

The places to go if you’re looking for a wide range of things are the major retailers such as Walmart and Target, BlackFriday.com shopping expert Mackenzie Shand told ConsumerAffairs. And those stores also have some of the largest discounts, too, just because they buy so much from vendors.

“Best Buy is a great shopping destination for tech discounts and retailers like Home Depot, Lowe's and Wayfair are good places to check for large discounts on home-related products,” she said.

“In terms of discounts, the majority of Target's deals range from 30% to 50% off. Amazon has advertised many 30% and 40% off discounts, but the discounts reach 70% for Alexa-enabled, smart devices. Similar to Target, Walmart has many items discounted between 30% to 50% off.”

Jewelry is an exceptionally good buy at department stores

For some reason, jewelry is a particularly good choice for money-pinching gift-givers this year. ConsumerAffairs saw upwards of 60% discounts at department stores such as Kohl’s and Belk, and a hard-to-believe 75% off jewelry at JCPenney. 

Macy’s isn’t laying down when it comes to discounts in the jewelry department, either. It’s got many 60% off deals which also lets shoppers buy a necklace or pair of earrings for $29.99 when they spend $25 or more.

Free gift cards

Retailers are hanging gift card mistletoe everywhere they can. ConsumerAffairs saw some tremendous deals at Target where you could get a $20 gift card with a purchase of $100-plus on baby care items, a $50 Target GiftCard with a purchase of the Xbox Series S – Holiday Console, and up to $100 gift cards for purchases of smart TV sets.

BlackFriday’s Shand also turned up several, too -- up to $250 in Apple gift cards when you purchase Apple products such as AirPods and iPads, or an additional $15 Apple gift card when you buy a $100 Apple Gift Card at Target or Best Buy, and a $10 gift card when you purchase $100 worth of gift cards at Barnes & Noble.

Don’t forget Amazon

Amazon’s biggest deals of the year usually come during their Prime Days, but Ryan Turner, the founder of Ecommerce Intelligence told ConsumerAffairs that the online giant is doing the unusual this year – a Black Friday promotion of its own. 

“This does appear to be a 48-hour only sale window, with hundreds of thousands of items discounted across all major categories,” he said. “It'd definitely be worth it for consumers to watch their Black Friday spending budgets and be sure to save some money for the day itself.”

Some web tricks that might turn up extra savings

Retailers are using every opportunity they can to keep a consumer in their lair. When ConsumerAffairs was checking out Belk’s website, we got a pop-up offering us $10 off any $20 purchase – something the promotion said could be used on top of other coupons.

When it looked like we were clicking off Kohl's website, we got a 15% off offer if we'd sign up for its newsletter.  At Duluth Trading Company's site, we got a pop-up offering 20% off plus free shipping for signing up for its email list.

It might be a smart move to check out every retailer’s website and move your mouse a little bit to activate any pop-up discounts the company wants to offer you for signing up for their mailing list or purchasing something.

By the way -- do it in incognito mode so you can make sure that you don't have the retailer's web cookie embedded in your browser. Otherwise, a pop-up deal may never happen.

Online shoppers who aren’t afraid of plug-ins or deal-checking platforms can try out things like Cently, which sniffs out coupon codes that can be used at checkout, and CamelCamelCamel, an Amazon price checker and browser extension. 

Capital One ​​also has a browser extension called “Capital One Shopping” which automatically applies coupons to your cart and sends you price drop notifications.

There’s been so many pre-Black Friday sales going on and so much sell-off attempted in the last few months because of overstock issues, is there anything s...

Article Image

Best Buy is already offering Black Friday deals

With holiday sales beginning in October, will there be anything left on store shelves on Black Friday? Best Buy says there will, but the company says shoppers should show up early just in case.

Best Buy stores will open at 5:00 AM on Friday, though stores located in shopping malls may open slightly later. A list of store openings can be found here

The electronics and appliance retailer has already started featuring Black Friday sale items. Here are a few that stand out:

  • Featured Chromebooks starting at $79

  • Featured Windows laptops starting at $99

  • Up to $500 off some gaming laptops

  • Samsung - 60" Class TU690T Series LED 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV for $400

  • Samsung - 75" Class TU690T Series LED 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV for $580

  • Hisense - 55" Class R6G Series LED 4K UHD Smart Roku TV for $240

  • Toshiba - 32" Class V35 Series LED HD Smart Fire TV for $80

  • Sony - WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Over-the-Ear Headphones - Black for $228

  • Up to 50% on select exercise equipment

  • MacBook Air 13.3" Laptop - Apple M1 chip - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD  for $800

  • Apple - AirPods with Charging Case (2nd generation) - White for $100

Many happy returns

Best Buy says it’s prepared for post-holiday returns and has tweaked its policies in a few places.  Purchases made October 24, 2022, through December 31, 2022, have an extended return period through January 14, 2023, excluding items purchased with a third-party contract (e.g., Activatable devices [cell phones, cellular tablets, mobile hotspots, and cellular wearables] and AppleCare+ plans, etc.); and holiday products (e.g., artificial trees, lights, decorations, etc.).

Other exclusions, including restocking fees, non-returnable products, and all other terms and conditions of the Best Buy Return & Exchange Promise apply. You’ll find more information about how to return items here.

With holiday sales beginning in October, will there be anything left on store shelves on Black Friday? Best Buy says there will, but the company says shopp...

Article Image

Target releases plans for its biggest Black Friday sale

Target, along with many major retailers, kicked off the holiday season early this year, offering shoppers Deal Day events back in early October. Then, in mid-October, the company announced its plans for a season-long Black Friday event, along with Deal of the Day, in which Target offered one major item at a significant discount. 

Now, with Black Friday right around the corner, Target is announcing its plans for the most anticipated shopping weekend of the year. Sales started on Sunday, November 20, and will run through Saturday, November 26. Then, new sales will be announced for Cyber Monday starting on Sunday, November 27, and running through Monday, November 28. 

“We know our guests are looking forward to Black Friday for big savings across all of their holiday needs, and we’re planning to deliver for them with our biggest Black Friday sale ever,” said Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Target. 

“With more than one million items on sale, we’re offering guests incredible value on the season’s must-have items, from exclusives like Heyday and FAO Schwarz, to national brands like LEGO and Apple, and only-at-Target items across apparel, home, food, and beverage. And best of all, when guests shop Black Friday deals at Target, they can get their items that same day using Drive Up, Order Pickup, or Same Day Delivery with Shipt – all with no membership required.” 

What’s on sale?

While Target plans to update its sales over the course of the weekend, some of the things shoppers can get on sale right now through Saturday, November 26, include: 

  • $105 off iRobot Roomba 675 vacuum

  • $50 off plus a $50 gift card with the purchase of an Xbox Series S console

  • 25% off beauty gift sets

  • $300 off 65-inch Element Smart TV

  • $150 off Dyson V8 Origin vacuum

  • Buy one get one 50% off toy brands – Barbie, FAO Schwarz, Marvel, and more

  • 40% off baby gear

  • 40% off LEGO

  • 50% off six-foot Alberta Christmas trees

  • $100 off Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones

  • 50% off Wondershop pet beds

  • $200 off KitchenAid Professional 5 qt Stand Mixer

  • $6 faux fur slippers

  • $70 off PowerXL Vortex Pro 8 qt Air Fryer

  • $29.99 for top Nintendo Switch games

Then, between Thanksgiving Day and Saturday, November 26, Target plans to roll out these sales: 

  • $60 off Beats Studio Buds

  • 40% off boots and outerwear

  • 30% off jewelry

  • $7 matching sleepwear sets

  • 20% off Kinetic Sand

  • $3 for clothing basics 

Shopping conveniently this holiday season

While Target stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, stores will reopen on Black Friday at 7:00 am local time. 

Additionally, throughout the holiday season, Target has updated its return policy and will honor its price match policy. Customers now have 90 days to return items to Target, while the company will also honor any price matches for items found at a lower price either at Target or other retailers when shoppers are in-store or within 14 days of their original purchase. 

Target, along with many major retailers, kicked off the holiday season early this year, offering shoppers Deal Day events back in early October. Then, in m...

Article Image

Here are five ways to avoid holiday package delivery hassles

By this time next week FedEx, UPS, Amazon Prime, and other shipping trucks will be busy delivering all the merchandise purchased on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

To make sure the deliveries go smoothly, avoiding everything from porch pirates to crushed boxes, here are some tips from shipping experts.

Don’t assume that your purchase will be delivered on time and in perfect condition. It might, but with millions of packages in the system, anything can happen.

If you are having a valuable or fragile item delivered to your home, it may be wise to purchase shipping insurance. For fragile items, it will also pay to ship them overnight, since the less time the item spends in the system the better. 

And it goes without saying, always get tracking numbers for your purchases and check the shipping progress periodically.

Watch out for scammers

You can expect scammers to step up their game in the wake of the year’s busiest shopping days. Don’t be fooled by texts, calls, or emails about a “missed delivery.” 

If a real delivery company misses you, it will leave a notice on your door with instructions on how to pick up your order. If you receive a missed delivery notice, examine the form carefully to make sure it is authentic and only then follow their instructions. 

It’s also important to remember everything you have ordered so you know what is coming and when. Don't click on any links. Instead,  go to the delivery carrier's website directly or log in and use the retailer's tracking tools. 

If you think you might not be home when a delivery is made, request a signature. While that may entail an extra change it means the delivery company won’t leave a package on your doorstep, where it might tempt a porch pirate.

Don’t let packages sit on the porch

If a package is dropped on your porch, make sure you get it inside as quickly as possible. Packages left sitting outside are particularly vulnerable to theft.

If you don’t expect to be home when the package is delivered, have it delivered to your place of employment, if possible. You could also ask a neighbor if they would be willing to accept the package for you.

UPS and other delivery services have contracts with retail chains, whose stores will accept a package and hold it until the recipient can show up to collect it.

Finally, open the box as soon as it is delivered. Look for signs of damage or tampering. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, contact the seller right away. Make sure you understand the merchant’s return policy for damaged or unwanted items. 

By this time next week FedEx, UPS, Amazon Prime, and other shipping trucks will be busy delivering all the merchandise purchased on Black Friday and Cyber...

Article Image

DICK’S Sporting Goods releases Black Friday deals

With Black Friday just days away, consumers are narrowing down their holiday shopping lists. Now, DICK'S Sporting Goods has released its Black Friday deals, some of which have already started, as well as holiday gift ideas. 

The gift guide, which is live now, will continue to be updated with new deals and savings opportunities through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The sales cover a wide variety of brands, including YETI, North Face, Peloton, and more. 

To add to consumers’ savings this holiday season, DICK’S will honor price matching. Any customer who proves that they can get the same item for a lower price at a different store will receive that same low price at DICK’S. 

While DICK’s stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, the sporting goods company will have extended hours on Black Friday, with all stores staying open from 6:00 am through 10:00 pm. 

What’s on sale?

DICK’S kicked off its Black Friday offerings on November 20, and these sales will run through Saturday, November 26. Here’s what shoppers can expect: 

  • 30% off North Face hoodies
  • Up to $230 off select golf clubs
  • Up to 50% off Adidas shoes and clothes
  • 50% off Nishiki youth Pueblo bikes
  • Up to 30% off Nike shoes and clothes
  • Up to 60% off basketball hoops from Goliath & Lifetime
  • Select NCAA fleeces, quarter zips, and polos for $21.98 

Then, starting on Thanksgiving Day and running through November 26, DICK’S will offer a few more sales for shoppers. 

  • 25% off Sorel shoes
  • $2,500 off the Prince 6800 table tennis table 
  • Up to 30% off Brooks shoes 

Choose how to shop

DICK’S customers can choose the shopping option that’s most convenient for them this holiday season: ship to home, in-store shopping, one-hour pickup, or same-day delivery with Instacart or DoorDash.

Additionally, DICK’S ScoreCard members receive free shipping on all orders of $49 or more, and most DICK’S stores will have extended hours for shopping during the holiday season. 

With Black Friday just days away, consumers are narrowing down their holiday shopping lists. Now, DICK'S Sporting Goods has released its Black Friday deals...

Article Image

Here's why retailers are trying to 'speed up' Black Friday

Despite all the sales that retailers like Target, Macy’s, Walmart, and others are promoting as season-long “Black Friday” sales, the real Black Friday hasn’t happened, yet, and all these little pop-up sales are causing confusion.

The shopping pundits at RetailDive pin the tail on Amazon for starting this mess.

“This year, Amazon again staged a second big Prime sales event, though the e-commerce giant didn’t want to call it Prime Day since that took place over the summer. As Target and other retailers held sales of their own around the same time, it seemed like Black Friday had begun, at least in spirit,” Daphne Howland said.

“It isn’t really turning out that way, though. Amazon’s sale was something of a disappointment, for example.”

Why the rush?

The decision not to wait until the official Black Friday on November 25 is most likely due to two issues. For one, some retailers are sitting on inventory that’s choking space on their shelves and in unopened boxes in the back of the store. The other is that stores are suffering from the impact of inflation which is keeping consumers from opening their wallets.

According to a new NDP survey, a concerning 20% of holiday shoppers say they will spend less over the holidays because their economic situation has changed. Add to that, more than one in ten (12%) shoppers will be spending less on gifts so they can spend more on holiday entertaining-related expenses, like food, drink, and decorations in our first true holiday shopping out of COVID-19’s shadows.

“Consumers are ready to get out and celebrate over the 2022 holiday season, but last year’s optimism has taken a beating as financial concerns have them feeling a bit more grinchy this year,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD.

“Despite economic challenges, consumers still have just as many friends and family members to shop for during the holidays, they will just be spending differently.” 

Finding deals will be different, too, this year

Being pandemic-free, consumers say they will be both shopping more and buying more in stores as opposed to online. Believe it or not, two in five Americans miss the chaos of in-person Black Friday shopping.

The question is how do consumers find these in-store specials? The key word is “retention,” suggests Heather Dougherty, vice president of success at Lexer, a customer data platform for retailers.

“Consumers who are members of loyalty programs will probably really benefit from exclusive offers, early access to sales, special discounts, gifts with purchase and all sorts of other types of benefits,” Dougherty said.

She told FoxNews2 that deal-watchers should keep an eye out for communications from the retailers they plan to shop with. And, for those who don’t belong to a retailer’s loyalty program, it would be a smart move to sign up for one or download the retailer’s app.

However, Dougherty said consumers need to make sure that if there’s a fee to take part in a loyalty program – like Walmart+ – consumers should weigh the cost versus potential savings before they commit.

Despite all the sales that retailers like Target, Macy’s, Walmart, and others are promoting as season-long “Black Friday” sales, the real Black Friday hasn...

Article Image

Online secondhand store Mercari to host deals this holiday season

With the holiday shopping season starting earlier than ever, and inflation putting a dent in consumers’ shopping budgets, Mercari is working to make it easier than ever to shop second hand this holiday season. 

Mercari, an online secondhand store where consumers can list their own new or used items or buy from others at a discounted rate, is hosting a holiday listing event from November 6-13, in addition to offering sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as through the first few weeks of December. 

“American households are sitting on an estimated $580 billion worth of products they’re no longer using (the equivalent of $4,517 per household), according to Mercari’s Reuse Report,” the company wrote. “Selling these unused items is a great way to declutter and pass on quality items to others – all while earning extra cash for holiday shopping.” 

List more items, get more savings

From November 6-13, Mercari users will get discounts on secondhand items, with the more items that they list for sale. Customers who list between two and four items will receive a coupon for $5 off a $50+ order. Similarly, listing five to nine items will yield $10 off a $50+ order, and listing 10 or more items gets $20 off a $50+ order. 

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Mercari is gearing its sales toward new customers. New users will receive $10 off their orders – with no restrictions on items eligible for the discount – from November 25-27. On top of that, new users will also receive 10% off their first order, and 30% off a second purchase made within the next week. 

The last sale offer will take shoppers right through the beginning of December. Mercari will host 12 Days of Gifting from December 1-12. Each day, the Mercari website and app will have different offers for shoppers to reduce their spending totals even further. 

Mercari’s online shop has secondhand and vintage items in nearly every category – toys, clothes, household items, and jewelry, among several others. It could present a unique opportunity for consumers to save money on gifts this holiday season. 

With the holiday shopping season starting earlier than ever, and inflation putting a dent in consumers’ shopping budgets, Mercari is working to make it eas...

Article Image

Mattress Firm to host Black Friday deals through December 6

Getting ahead of the holiday season has been a theme this year, and several retailers have already announced plans for Black Friday deals that last the entire month of November – Macy’s, Walmart, and Target, among others. 

Now, Mattress Firm is joining that list, with Black Friday sales that are running now through December 6. This is the earliest that the mattress store has ever announced Black Friday deals, and consumers can find sales both online and in-store. 

Get your next mattress for less

One such discount shoppers can expect is purchasing a king mattress for the price of a queen, or a queen mattress for the price of a twin. While certain brands aren’t eligible for this specific discount – Sealy Hybrid, Tempur-Pedic, Purple, and Nectar, among others – consumers can still expect to save on their next mattress. 

For those who have or open a Mattress Firm credit card, there will be 0% interest for five years on purchases of $1,999 or more. For consumers who spend $2,999 or more on their Mattress Firm credit card, there will be 0% interest for six years. 

Additionally, shoppers will earn up to $100 bonus cash for each purchase they make. From November 9-29, those who spend $500-$1,499.99 will earn either a $25 bonus in cash to spend online or $50 in bonus cash to spend in-store. Similarly, those who spend $1,500 or more will receive $50 online bonus cash or $100 in-store bonus cash to be spent between December 7-27. 

Customers will also receive up to $700 off select mattresses, plus a free adjustable base. 

With over a month of savings available both online and in-store, consumers can choose when and how to pick out their next mattress this holiday season. 

Getting ahead of the holiday season has been a theme this year, and several retailers have already announced plans for Black Friday deals that last the ent...

Article Image

Walmart's new digital updates are designed to make holiday shopping easier

Like a growing number of major retailers this year, Walmart is in full holiday mode. The company has announced its month-long Black Friday plans, top toys list, new holiday return policies, and an updated gift guide and toy selection for the 2022 holiday season. 

Now, to tie all of those things together, and improve customers’ online shopping experience, Walmart has also enhanced its website and mobile app. The updates, which were rolled out this week, will make it easier than ever to make purchases this holiday season – and beyond. 

“As many of us start preparing to welcome friends and family members into our homes for the holidays, Walmart is taking the same actions to get our ‘house’ ready for holiday shopping,” wrote Brock McKeel, senior vice president of site experience and Walmart eCommerce. “We’re pulling out all the stops for our customers on Walmart.com, ensuring that they have fast, frictionless, engaging, and personalized shopping experiences that save them time, save them money, and make shopping on our site just as easy as shopping in one of our stores.” 

Saving money, prioritizing convenience 

Walmart says its new digital features are all about helping consumers save money and facilitating a fast, convenient shopping experience. 

One of the new features tags all sale items in green. The green price tag will help shoppers easily identify which items are on sale and what the discounted prices are. 

For shoppers in a hurry, there will now be the option to immediately “buy now.” Rather than going through the entire checkout process, or scrolling through tons of items, Walmart shoppers can skip right to the end to make shopping faster. 

Additionally, Walmart will start showing suggestions of items that shoppers either regularly purchase or that are increasingly popular. The website and the app will start showing how many people have added certain items to their cart and how many people are looking at specific items. 

When it comes to Black Friday, consumers won’t have to stress about missing out on big-ticket items. Walmart will now offer virtual queues, which will allow shoppers to continue browsing the site or app, while virtually holding their spot for popular items.

Not only will this feature highlight on the screen how long shoppers are able to hold something in their carts, but shoppers can wait in multiple queues to make sure they get everything on their shopping lists. 

“Every improvement to the site experience helps us create a faster, more engaging, and more personalized experience for our customers, and we’re just getting started,” McKeel wrote. “The closest store to our customer is in their pocket, and they can trust us to make it easy for them to save time, save money, and ultimately, live better this holiday season.”

Like a growing number of major retailers this year, Walmart is in full holiday mode. The company has announced its month-long Black Friday plans, top toys...

Article Image

Kohl's unveils November plans for month-long holiday savings

The holiday shopping season has taken an interesting turn this year. Between several retailers offering major sales in early October, plus Amazon and the NFL announcing a Black Friday game on Prime Video for 2023, things are certainly changing. 

Now, following announcements from Target and Walmart for a November full of early Black Friday deals, Kohl’s is following suit. The retailer announced that November will be a month full of savings and discounts for shoppers. 

“Our customers have made it clear that value is more important than ever this season,” said Christie Raymond, chief marketing officer at Kohl’s. “That’s why it was incredibly important to us to offer savings events that not only give customers the choice of when to shop, but the confidence in knowing they are getting a great value on gifts for their loved ones every time they choose Kohl’s." 

“This holiday season, we’re meeting our customers where they are – wanting to shop early, and wanting to find deals on all the top gifts and products of the season,” said Ron Murray, interim chief merchandising officer at Kohl’s. “With our robust assortment of products and categories that lean into the areas where we’re really seeing our customers gravitate towards, such as outdoor, home, beauty, pet, toys, and apparel, we’re confident that Kohl’s will be a key destination for all of their holiday needs.” 

Starting Black Friday early

At Kohl’s, Black Friday sales and big savings opportunities will start on November 4 and last for the entire month. From that point, the company will offer new deals designed to help customers save money right through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Starting November 4, customers will receive $15 Kohl’s cash for every $50 spent at Kohl’s. On top of that, Kohl’s is offering 15% off all online and in-store purchases from November 4-10. Then, from November 5-10, Kohl’s cash will be $10 for every $50 spent. 

Customers interested in getting gifts – or their everyday favorites – from Sephora at Kohl’s can get 20% off their orders – and 30% off the Sephora collection – from October 28-November 7. 

For the two weekends before Black Friday – November 11-12 and November 18-19 – Kohl’s will host Dashing Deal Days. Not only will items across several departments be on sale – clothes, home goods, toys, and activewear, among others – but there will also be the opportunity to rack up even more Kohl’s cash and savings. 

From November 11-19, Kohl’s will be offering 20% off all in-store and online purchases. Customers will receive $10 in Kohl’s cash for every $50 spent between November 11-17, while $10 will be taken off every $25 purchase from November 11-12. Active and former military personnel will be eligible to receive 30% off all of their purchases from November 11-13. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

The closer it gets to Black Friday, the more deals that Kohl’s will be offering to customers – starting on Sunday, November 20 – a full five days before Black Friday. For the entire week of Thanksgiving, Kohl’s cash will be $15 for every $50 spent, and customers will receive 15% off all purchases. 

Deals on specific items are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, as Kohl’s plans to have even more discounts as the holiday shopping season heats up. Shoppers are encouraged to choose the method that best suits them – whether that’s in-store, online, on the Kohl’s app, or self-pick-up. 

The holiday shopping season has taken an interesting turn this year. Between several retailers offering major sales in early October, plus Amazon and the N...

Article Image

Labor Day bargains are plentiful, shopping experts say

Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it. And retailers all over are rolling out end-of-the-season deals on all mattresses, home goods, clothing, outdoor furniture, grills, major appliances, and more.

Thanks to shopping experts at BlackFriday.com and Deal News, ConsumerAffairs has the dish on the best sales, plus buying tips for shoppers to utilize while shopping over the long weekend.

The deal and steals

Here are what Black Friday and Deal News shared with ConsumerAffairs as the best Labor Deals, A-Z.

Article - From now until September 5, you can save up to 50% on more than 400 Article furnishings. This includes patio seating, coffee tables, beds, bookcases, and more.

Casper: Casper has several different promotions running right now. Adjustable bed frames are 50% off, pillows are up to 40% off, sheets are up to 50% off, bedding bundles are 25% off and weighted blankets and other items are on sale too.

Dyson: Dyson is hosting what it says is a major sale for Labor Day. Shoppers can save up to $200 on top models, including vacuums and air purifiers.

eBay: Save up to 78% off big brands during the site's Labor Day sale. Even better, take an extra 15% off select items via code "LABORDAYSAVE". This deal is valid through September 5.

Essentia: Save 25% and receive two free Comfort pillows when you purchase an Essentia organic mattress. This offer is valid through September 5. Additionally, get 25% off your purchase, including organic mattresses, organic pillows, foundations, crib mattresses, and pet beds. Free shipping is also included, and this deal is valid September 6-12.

Home Depot: Home Depot is giving shoppers early access to its Labor Day appliance savings. Shoppers will find top-rated Samsung refrigerators marked down to 32% off their original prices, LG washer dryer sets on sale for 15% off, and GE dishwashers available for 25% off.

Joann: Stock up on craft supplies for less with these Labor Day deals, which include: Up to 50% off select fabrics; 30% off pillow forms, stuffing, batting, and foam; 40% off Cricut accessories; $1.99 Simplicity patterns.

Lowe's: The Lowe’s Labor Day sale runs Aug. 25-Sept. 7, and is full of store and site-wide savings. A few highlights include up to 40% off select outdoor power equipment and up to 50% off select patio furniture. 

Mattress Firm: Shoppers can improve their sleep during the long weekend with savings of up to $700 off on mattresses and bedding accessories through Sept. 6. 

Overstock: Overstock's Labor Day clearance sale includes savings of up to 70% off on patio furniture, coffee tables, rugs, and more.

Pom Pom at Home: Save on hand-loomed products by taking 20% off sitewide via coupon code "LABOR20". This offer is valid September 2-7.

Proof: Take 20% off your purchase via code "WEARWHITE" from 1:59 am ET on August 31 through 1:59 am ET on September 6. Gift cards and bundles are excluded from this offer.

Rockport: Save 30% to 40% on most styles during the Labor Day Sale, which also offers free shipping. This offer is valid August 31-September 6.

Rove Concepts: Score up to 60% off select items during the Labor Day Long Weekend Sale. Plus, members get a 20% discount and 20% back in vouchers that can be used for additional savings. This offer is valid September 2-5.

TUSHY: Purchase two or more of the TUSHY Classic 3.0 and get them for $69 each via coupon code "NINESIX". This offer is valid September 2-6.

What about travel deals?

Travel deals may be a bit scarce over the holiday – not completely gone, just not as good as they have been in the past.

“Many people are hyped to travel after spending the majority of the last two years at home, but that doesn't mean the deals are there,” Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at Deal News, said. “Demand is super high, so there's no real reason for airlines, hotels, and cruise lines to offer any kind of incentive to entice travelers.”

Ramhold said that some of the best offers her team saw last year were in Mexico and the Caribbean, so it might behoove ready-to-go vacationers to search for deals in those two destinations. 

Tips from the pros

While Labor Day sales will have their share of plums, it’s not a one-size-fits-all savings feast. Black Friday’s experts told ConsumerAffairs that when it comes to things like electronics, TVs, and toys, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales might offer more than Labor Day. They also suggested holding off on buying fall clothing and even Halloween decor as there are better prices to come.

Another BlackFriday.com tip is to use discount codes and coupons. “Make sure you're applying coupon codes and stacking cashback offers on top of retailer's sales for even more savings. Sites like RetailMeNot provide up to 15% cash back at hundreds of top stores like Adidas, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Sephora,” a BlackFriday spokesperson said.

Over at Deal News, Ramhold made note that appliances might be extra good values over Labor Day. She said that if last year is any indication – one where Home Depot slashed appliances by 53% – it might be worth checking out the big box stores this time around.

“Keep an eye out for Best Buy to offer savings on appliances, as well. Last year, it had Labor Day discounts on all the big brands, including Samsung, LG, GE, and Whirlpool, among others,” Ramhold suggested.

Another pro tip came from U.S. News & World Report’s latest inflation shopping habits survey. In its study, it found that thanks to inflation, couponing is once again a hot item. 

“Coupon clubs have gone virtual, with expert advice coming in the form of social media influencers,” U.S. News’ Lauren Naru, said. “Popular coupon advisors like City Coupon Mom, Coupon with Kayla, and CouponingCraz have hundreds of thousands of eager followers interested in money-saving strategies.”

Lastly, a spokesperson for RetailMeNot suggested stacking cashback offers on top of retailer's sales for even bigger savings. They said shoppers will find 15% cash back at hundreds of top stores on their deal-driven site, including Adidas, Best Buy, Home Depot and Sephora.

Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it. And retailers all over are rolling out end-of-the-season deals on all mattresses, home goods, clothing,...

Article Image

Retailers expect strong Cyber Monday sales to finish Black Friday shopping weekend

Retailers are counting on a strong Cyber Monday to wrap up their Thanksgiving shopping season. The National Retail Foundation (NRF) stated that close to 2 million additional consumers will have shopped over the holiday weekend when compared to last year.

That amounts to an estimated 158.3 million people, up from 156.6 million last year. However, it’s still about 7 million short of the 165.3 million shoppers in pre-pandemic 2019.

“We’re expecting another record-breaking holiday season this year and Thanksgiving weekend will play a major role as it always has,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Nonetheless, consumers are starting earlier than ever to be sure they can get what they want, when they want it, at a price they want to pay.”

Shay said this year’s uncertainty about the supply chain caused shoppers to order early so they could avoid any potential delays.

“Black Friday stopped being a one-day event years ago, and this year some consumers started shopping for Christmas as early as Halloween,” he commented.

Shoppers opt for the personalized route

Consumers are also changing their tune a bit on what they shop for. Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail at Salesforce, told ConsumerAffairs that the trends his company is seeing lean toward personalized and relevant engagement during Cyber Week 2021. 

“Retailers are tuning their marketing messages to target consumers over Cyber Week. Our data shows that personalized promotions grew two times faster than generic promotions compared to last year,” he said.

Garf noted that the winners over the Black Friday weekend include:

  • Luxury handbags -- Sales were up 47%, with calfskin bags, satchels, and crossbody bags coming in as the most popular selling luxury handbag items.

  • Furniture -- Sales were up 40%, with chairs, mattresses, and sofas being the most popular selling furniture items.

  • General footwear -- Sales were up 27%, with clogs and boots being the most popular footwear types.

Garf said consumers shouldn’t set their expectations too high when it comes to prices and sales this year. The Average Selling Price (ASP) over Cyber Week (Tuesday-Sunday) is up 13% in the U.S. compared to last year, which is great for retailers. On the flip side, the average discount that U.S. consumers were getting during Cyber Week was 26% off full price, which is down 9% year-over-year.

Retailers are counting on a strong Cyber Monday to wrap up their Thanksgiving shopping season. The National Retail Foundation (NRF) stated that close to 2...

Article Image

Most major retail stores will be closed on Thanksgiving

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many national retailers to suspend the practice of opening stores on Thanksgiving to get an early jump on Black Friday. This year, most are continuing to give store employees the day off.

Walmart, Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Kohl's, Macy's, and JCPenney, have all announced that they will close their stores for the holiday while offering a full array of online deals. In years past, these stores kicked off their in-store Black Friday weekend sales on Thanksgiving Day.

Target has taken it one step farther, announcing that its stores will continue to be closed on Thanksgiving even after the pandemic is over. Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, told USA Today he thinks most retailers will come to the same decision because it isn’t cost-effective to have stores open on the holiday.

“With all these online shopping opportunities, is it really necessary to open on Thanksgiving?” Perkins asked rhetorically. 

Some stores will be open

At the same time, consumers who decide they need to do some shopping before or after Thanksgiving dinner will find several options. In addition to convenience stores, a number of grocery store chains will be open with limited hours.

Drug store chains like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid plan to have Thanksgiving Day hours. Some of the other brick-and-mortar stores doing business on the holiday include Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Big Lots, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree.

Most major retailers are already offering holiday shopping deals, both in-store and online. Target’s week-long deals include discounts on electronics, toys, kitchen appliances, vacuums, video games, apparel, and beauty products.

“We began offering holiday deals in October for those looking to shop early and we’re continuing to deliver big savings all season long, including Black Friday week,” said Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Target. 

In fact, most national retailers got an early start on Black Friday-type deals. Walmart is continuing to run its Deals for Days promotion. Current offerings include AirPods Pro for $159.

Amazon’s deals include a lot of its own electronic products. For example, it’s offering the Echo Show 5 + Blink Mini Camera bundle for $50. On Friday the price drops to $45.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many national retailers to suspend the practice of opening stores on Thanksgiving to get an early jump on Black Frida...

Article Image

Many retailers are already releasing their Black Friday ads

With Black Friday coming up next week, major retailers are showing their hands. They’re releasing ad slicks to give shoppers an early peek at their holiday deals.

At Walmart, the leaked ad slick shows that two popular video game consoles, -- the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 -- will both be on sale for $499, but only for online purchases. Additional games start at $14. Walmart is also offering a bonus to shoppers who purchase a new smartphone. Consumers who purchase an iPhone or Samsung model can get up to $750 in eGift cards. 

Electronics are always a big draw on Black Friday. Target will offer a 65-inch 4K set for $300. A Nintendo Switch will be available at the same price.

Black Friday shoppers will also find 40% off on select Lego building sets. There are also things for the kitchen. A KitchenAid 5-quart professional stand mixer will have a Black Friday sale price of $220. The deals begin Nov. 21.

TVs and appliances

Best Buy will have plenty of TV sets on sale at next week’s sales event. A Samsung 75-inch Class 7 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV will be on sale for $850. A Keurig single-serve coffee maker will sell for $50.

There will also be discounts on appliances. Best Buy shoppers can get up to $300 in free e-gift cards with select Samsung appliance packages. For example, consumers will receive a $100 e-gift card with the purchase of a select laundry package. A select kitchen appliance package earns buyers a $200 e-gift card.

According to a Macy’s ad slick, the retailer will celebrate Black Friday with deals on apparel, appliances, and electronics. Women’s coats will sell for 60% to 70% off. Women’s boots and shoes will be marked down as much as 50%.

‘Bonus buys’

Macy’s is also offering some “bonus buys.” Shoppers who spend at least $25 can pick up a pair of Macy's diamond multi-halo stud earrings (1/10 ct. t.w.) in sterling silver for $30.

Costco’s ad shows Black Friday sales start online on Thanksgiving Day. Promotions include $150 off on the purchase of an HP Pavilion 15.6” 1080p touchscreen laptop with an Intel Core i7 Processor, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD. 

Shoppers will find $300 off on the purchase of an MSI Prestige 14” 1080p Laptop with an Intel Core i7 Processor, 32GB Memory, and 1TB SSD. In the apparel department, Gloria Vanderbilt stretch jeans will be marked down $7 and Voyager’s men’s hoodies will be marked down $6.

With Black Friday coming up next week, major retailers are showing their hands. They’re releasing ad slicks to give shoppers an early peek at their holiday...

Article Image

Walmart kicks off second round of Black Friday sales

Walmart’s second round of holiday deals is underway and runs through the weekend, offering discounts on a wide range of holiday gifts. The promotion began Wednesday evening at Walmart.com and continues in stores Friday, ending Nov. 14. It’s part of the retailer’s strategy to encourage consumers to shop early.

Some of the deals include:

Other sale items during the weekend promotion include a Shark Cordless PetPRO with Powerfins for $159, marked down from $279; a GoPro Hero8 Black Bundle for $249; and a Blackstone 22-inch Adventure Ready Griddle for $117.

Walmart announced holiday promotion plans last month, breaking its traditional Black Friday sales into three events running throughout November. The third and final event begins on Black Friday weekend.

Walmart + members will get early access to the holiday deals, free shipping with no order minimum on items shipped by Walmart, free delivery from stores, discounts on prescriptions, and access to mobile Scan and Go to make shopping faster. 

Other retailers

Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and other major retailers have also rolled out holiday shopping deals well before Black Friday. The trend began several years ago but is being encouraged this holiday season because of supply chain constraints, which could create shortages closer to Christmas.

Target is offering daily deals that include a mix of products, including specials on toys, furniture, and apparel. Best Buy is offering a series of holiday deals every Monday.

Amazon is currently offering deals on holiday gift items and plans to keep adding products on a daily basis. Current deals include offers on TV sets and wireless headphones.

Walmart’s second round of holiday deals is underway and runs through the weekend, offering discounts on a wide range of holiday gifts. The promotion began...

Article Image

Macy’s announces its Black Friday deals

Macy’s is the latest major retailer to roll out its Black Friday deals well in advance of the big day, as industry analysts have already warned that discounts may be harder to find this year. Like many of its competitors, Macy’s is getting an early start in trying to snag holiday shoppers. The first deals roll out on Nov. 3.

“Shop for everything from women’s clothes, boots, shoes, and jewelry to must-have beauty gifts,” the company said in announcing the event. “Score a head-to-toe outfit for upcoming get-togethers & virtual meetups, too. Guys, we didn’t forget about you: stock up on everyday basics, workweek looks, and weekend loungewear. We’ve got the latest trends & winter essentials you’ll wear all season long.”

But with persistent supply chain constraints, apparel may be in short supply. After all, most clothing is now manufactured overseas, and container ships continue to be backed up in ports like Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The webpage announcing Macy’s Black Friday deals also contains this disclaimer: “While supplies last, select styles online & in stores.”

Consumers are being urged to shop early

A number of retailers have urged consumers to start their holiday shopping early since it’s not known how supplies will hold up. When ordering online, merchants have told consumers to prepare for shipping delays and to avoid procrastinating.

Among the deals that Macy’s will offer next week are:

  • Women’s coats from Charter Club and other designers, regularly priced from $75 to $249, starting at $24.99

  • Small appliances, starting at under $10

  • Fine jewelry at up to 70% off

  • Men’s designer dress pants from Calvin Klein, regularly priced at up to $95, sale priced at $29.99

  • Women’s shoes from GUESS and other designers 40% off

  • Cozy bedding 70% off

  • Clearance sale on watches with discounts of 50%

Marla, of Houston, is already shopping at Macy’s and tells us she likes what she sees.

“Prices are reasonable, always new arrivals,” Marla wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “I can also find stuff for my kitchen, customer service personnel is always professional and kind, stores always clean and in order. Good offers every season.”

Macy’s says it’s trying to give shoppers more options during the holidays. Stores are open early and late, and customers can explore several flexible pickup and shipping options.

Macy’s is the latest major retailer to roll out its Black Friday deals well in advance of the big day, as industry analysts have already warned that discou...

Article Image

Walmart unveils its Black Friday plans

Walmart has revealed its Black Friday plans. The retailer announced that it is bringing back last season’s “Black Friday Deals for Days” promotion by offering sale prices on select items throughout November.

Walmart says shoppers will find the same bargains normally limited to the Friday after Thanksgiving all month long. It joins Amazon, Target, and Best Buy, which have all announced similar plans. However, Walmart is adding a wrinkle to this year’s promotion. Members of Walmart + will get access to the sale prices four hours earlier than everyone else.

“We continue to build Walmart+ to be the ultimate life hack for our customers,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer for Walmart U.S. “That means we’re there for our customers during the everyday with key benefits like free unlimited delivery from stores and free shipping with no order minimum.”

The game plan is much the same as in 2020. Walmart will spread out its Black Friday deals with three events throughout November to offer customers discounted prices on popular holiday gift items. Each event will begin online at Walmart.com and continue with the same deals in Walmart stores.

“The team has worked hard to prepare for another outstanding holiday season, and no matter how or where our customers choose to shop – from the shelf in a store, ordering online and picking it up curbside or having it delivered to their front door – they can depend on us for a safe and convenient shopping experience,” said Scott McCall, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. 

COVID-19 pandemic creates more complications

In recent years, retailers have moved away from kicking off holiday shopping promotions on Black Friday to offering deals much earlier. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated that trend.

This year, there is the added complication of pandemic-created supply and shipping issues. Consumers are being urged to do their shopping early because those waiting until the week before Christmas could face much smaller selections.

Walmart will begin its first Black Friday promotion online on Nov. 3 and continue it in stores on Nov. 5. The promotion will focus on home electronics, toys, and appliances.

The second promotion will begin online on Nov. 10 and continue in stores on Nov. 12. The retailer will offer discounted prices on items such as a Blackstone 22-inch Griddle with a hard cover and carrying case for $117, an HP i3 Laptop for $279, and a Shark EZ Robot Vacuum for $288.

The third event in the series starts online at the end of the month. The company said it’s saving its best deals for the final event.

Walmart has revealed its Black Friday plans. The retailer announced that it is bringing back last season’s “Black Friday Deals for Days” promotion by offer...

Article Image

Best Buy will begin Black Friday deals next week

Best Buy is the latest national retailer to announce an early start to Black Friday deals, kicking off the holiday savings the week before Halloween.

The company said the start of its Black Friday deals, which normally occurs the Friday after Thanksgiving, will start Tuesday, Oct. 19, and run through Oct. 22. The early deals will lean heavily on consumer tech.

Some of the featured deals next week, with savings of up to $180, include:

  • $599 for a Samsung 70-inch 4K Smart TV 

  • $169 for Beats Studio 3 headphones in matte black 

  • Chromebooks starting at $99

  • Windows laptops starting at $189.99

The retailer is also marking down a number of Samsung appliances, cutting prices by as much as $540 on the biggest ticket items.

When the calendar finally flips to November, Best Buy said it will be moving Black Friday up a week, from the day after Thanksgiving to Nov. 19. The company promises that “thousands” of deals will start that day, with some extending deeper into the holiday season.

New retail trend

Best Buy is joining a trend in which retailers are rolling out earlier deals to help consumers cope with potential shortages and highly anticipated shipping delays. 

Amazon announced its Black Friday deals earlier this month, making them available earlier than ever. Amazon’s early deals cover toys, home furnishings, and seasonal fashion. Deals include up to 30% off on Hasbro Games, NERF, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels. 

Target got an even earlier start on the holiday season, rolling out its deals in August. Company executives said 85% of the toys in this year’s lineup will be completely new. At the top of the list are brands like LEGO sets, L.O.L. Surprise! dolls, PAW Patrol, Barbie, and the Zoe Doll. Target is also partnering with FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store in the world, on an exclusive 70-piece toy collection.

Reasons to shop early

Big box retailers are encouraging consumers to shop early this year, not only to lock in sales but also to head off shortages deep into the holiday season that could result in a lot of unhappy people.

Tara, of Springboro, Ohio, tells us that she has already encountered delays when ordering from Amazon.

“The last few things I have ordered have all been late, had to be canceled or re-shipped,” Tara wrote this week in a ConsumerAffairs review. “I would rather have a 5-day guarantee than a next day or 2-day since everything seems to be delayed.”

The New York Times reported this week that the supply chain bottlenecks are showing no signs of relenting. Walmart, Target, Costco, and Home Depot have resorted to chartering their own ships, a move that the Wall Street Journal suggests could result in higher prices for goods.

Best Buy is the latest national retailer to announce an early start to Black Friday deals, kicking off the holiday savings the week before Halloween.Th...

Article Image

Amazon announces Black Friday deals in extra early reveal

Target was the first out of the gate to post its holiday deals, but Amazon is wasting no time in announcing its own. Even though Black Friday might be officially slated for the day after Thanksgiving, the online retailer says there’s no need to wait. It says consumers can shop now and save big with Black Friday-worthy pricing in every category, including fashion, home, beauty, toys, electronics, and Amazon Devices.

Consumers will be able to help small businesses and artisans spring back from a downturn in business brought on by the pandemic by shopping through the Small Business Storefront. Amazon is also offering additional guides featuring gifts from small businesses, Amazon Launchpad, and Amazon Handmade.

A new trick up Amazon’s sleeve

The e-commerce giant is also adding an interesting nuance to holiday shopping in 2021. If an Amazon Prime shopper doesn’t know the shipping address of the giftee, they can e-mail or text gifts. All it takes is selecting the gift, checking the “add gift receipt for easy returns” box during checkout, and then typing in a known email address or mobile number of the recipient.

That’s when the new twist comes in. The recipient can either accept the purchase or -- unbeknownst to the giver -- exchange it for an Amazon gift card.

Early deals

ConsumerAffairs took a look at some of the deals Amazon is offering early. Here are some of the available products that come with a discount:

Toys

  • Save up to 50% on STEM toys and kits from Learning Resources, National Geographic, and more.

  • Save up to 30% on Hasbro Games, NERF, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels.

Seasonal Fashion

  • Save up to 30% on Tommy Hilfiger men’s and women’s apparel.

  • Save up to 50% on women’s watches from Anne Klein, Nine West, and SWAROVSKI.

Homegoods and Appliances

  • Save up to 30% on Le Creuset cast iron and stoneware.

  • Save 40% on Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer.

A complete list of Amazon’s deals can be viewed here.

Target was the first out of the gate to post its holiday deals, but Amazon is wasting no time in announcing its own. Even though Black Friday might be offi...

Article Image

Walmart, Target announce sales events to compete with Amazon’s Prime Day

Walmart and Target have announced sales events to compete with Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event.

Amazon announced Wednesday that its sixth annual two-day shopping event will take place on June 21 and June 22 this year. Now, both Target and Walmart have announced that their own sales events will happen on the same dates. 

Walmart's event, which it’s calling "Deals for Days,” will take place from June 20 through the 23. The retailer says consumers will find "Black Friday-like savings” across a number of categories, including electronics, toys, home, beauty, and fashion. 

In an effort to drum up excitement, Walmart has unveiled a few of the deals it’ll be offering. Deals include a $50 discount on a Hisense Roku Smart LED TV, a $20 discount on an 11.6-inch HP Chromebook, and half off a Tobi Robot Smartwatch for kids.

Target’s sales event, called “Deal Days,” will go live on its website from June 20 through June 22. There will be discounts on “hundreds of thousands” of items across every category, including food and beverage for the first time ever. 

The retailer noted that consumers don't need any kind of membership to take advantage of its deals, unlike Prime Day sales that are only available to Prime members. 

“Target Deal Days is bigger and better than ever for all guests, with more days and ways to save, including food and beverage deals this year,” Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer, Target, said in a statement. “Our industry-leading, safe and easy fulfillment options deliver same-day joy — with no waiting or membership fee required.”

Walmart and Target have announced sales events to compete with Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event.Amazon announced Wednesday that its sixth annual two-da...

Article Image

Black Friday online spending sets new U.S. record

With many consumers still apprehensive about shopping in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spending for online shopping during Black Friday hit a new record. 

An estimated $9 billion was spent online the day after Thanksgiving, according to a report from Adobe Analytics. That figure represents a 22 percent increase from the previous online spending record of $7.4 billion, set in 2019. 

Adobe researchers said Friday’s online sales total takes the title of second-largest spending day in U.S. history, behind Cyber Monday last year. Consumers spent $6.3 million per minute (or $27.50 per person) online on Black Friday 2020.

Digital devices were hot items

There was a 25 percent increase in spending on smartphones compared to last year, according to the report. Forty percent of all online sales, or $3.6 billion, was spent on these devices. 

“New consoles, phones, smart devices and TVs that are traditional Black Friday purchases are sharing online shopping cart space this year with unorthodox Black Friday purchases such as groceries, clothes and alcohol, that would previously have been purchased in-store,” said Taylor Schreiner, a director at Adobe Digital Insights.

Sales of personal care products surged 556 percent, and online spending on pet products rose 254 percent. Popular items included Hot Wheels, Lego sets, Apple AirPods, Apple Watches, Amazon Echo devices, and Samsung TVs.

More consumers also utilized retailers’ in-store and curbside pickup options. The report found that the use of these options increased 52 percent from last year.

This year’s Cyber Monday shopping event is expected to become the biggest day in online sales in U.S. history. Adobe expects online sales to total between $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion.

With many consumers still apprehensive about shopping in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spending for online shopping during Black Friday hit a new re...

Article Image

Walmart, Target, and Amazon roll out deals to kick off Black Friday

Black Friday might lack some of the excitement and dramatic savings of past years, but Walmart, Target, and Amazon -- the three heavyweights in the retail space -- will still make it worth consumers’ while to shop.

At Walmart, the Black Friday online deals start tonight at 7 p.m. ET and continue at midnight ET on Friday, with stores opening up at 5 a.m. local time. Walmart’s ad circular highlights the following deals:

  • Fitbit Inspire 2 --  $69.

  • 70-inch Vizio 4K TV --  $478.

  • Nintendo Switch Bundle --  $299.

  • AirPods Pro --  $169.

  • Apple Watch Series 3 --  $119

Thanksgiving will be a big online shopping day

Target’s latest Black Friday ad offers discounts on smart products for the home, toys, electronics, games, toys, and apparel. Some of the deals went live at Target.com on Sunday, but the bulk will be available on Thanksgiving day.

Target stores are closed on Thanksgiving but will open as usual on Black Friday. Here are some of the deals listed in Target’s circular:

  • $70 off Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1-inch

  • $70 off Fire HD 10 Tablet 

  • 50 percent off most board and card games

  • $400 Target gift card with purchase of Samsung Note20 5G, Galaxy s20+5G, or Note10+

New deals each day

Amazon, which offered a sneak peek at its Cyber Monday deals earlier this week, has been putting up new deals each day since Friday and will continue the offerings through Black Friday itself. 

Its deals cover a wide range of categories, from health and beauty products to smart devices for the home. Deals include:

  • $149.99 for the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and an Echo Show 5

  • $129.99 for the Fire HD 10 Kids Edition tablet, a $70 savings

  • Up to 30 percent off on select Adidas activewear, backpacks, and more

  • Up to 40 percent off on Gillette and Venus razors, refills and more

  • Up to 30 percent off on STEM toys from Learning Resources

Despite the expected high volume of shipping resulting from this year’s massive shift to online shopping, Amazon says Prime members in the U.S. can shop a selection of over 10 million items eligible for Prime Free One-Day Delivery with no minimum purchase, and millions of items available for Same-Day Delivery in 47 major metropolitan areas. 

Black Friday might lack some of the excitement and dramatic savings of past years, but Walmart, Target, and Amazon -- the three heavyweights in the retail...

Article Image

Here’s what people are shopping for on ‘Black Friday week’

This year, thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Black Friday has been extended from just one day to most of the month of November. Deals are increasing this week as the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season approaches.

According to BestBlackFriday.com, most retailers are staging week-long sales promotions that lack the “OMG doorbuster” deals from previous years. But the savings are there, especially when it comes to technology and gadgets.

The iPhone 12 is reportedly high on many people’s gift lists this year. Other tech items consumers say they want to find under the tree are video game consoles, which got a workout as people spent a lot more time at home during the pandemic.

BestBlackFriday’s survey of consumers about what tech gifts they valued most found that 17 percent asked for a Playstation 5. Another 9 percent wanted an Xbox Series X/S.

Fourteen percent requested smart devices for the home, and 7 percent hoped for a foldable phone in their stockings.

Just three retailers

The survey also shows that 64 percent of consumers planned to do the bulk of their shopping at three retailers -- Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

"We're seeing that U.S. consumers are prioritizing electronics purchases and flocking to online marketplaces as many face new `stay at home' orders," said David Sykes, Head of U.S. at Klarna, a payments and shopping service. "Recent Wish List data from the Klarna app echoes these trends, showing that shoppers across all age demographics are particularly interested in personal electronics, footwear and home items as we enter the holiday season."

Klarna’s survey of consumers also reveals a gift list top-heavy with technology products. The top 10 requested gifts are:

  1. Apple AirPod Pro

  2. Nike Air Force 1

  3. Nintendo Switch

  4. Gramercy Kitchen Glass Food Storage Containers

  5. Vans Canvas Old Skool

  6. MacBook Pro

  7. Apple iPhone 12

  8. Apple Watch Series 5

  9. Adidas Superstar Athletic Shoe

  10. Food Network Acacia Wood Salad Bowl Set

Electronics sale growing faster than other categories

Consumers have already made a lot of electronics purchases. Klarna's app data showed that the share of wallet in the electronics category grew by 15 percent in the week ending November 15 when compared to the previous week - the most of any category during the comparison period. 

The company said this was especially pronounced among Gen Zers and baby boomers, who increased their share of wallet in the category by 19 percent and 21 percent week-over-week, respectively.

This year, thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Black Friday has been extended from just one day to most of the month of November. Deals are incr...

Article Image

Amazon reminds holiday shoppers that they can also pick up packages at delivery hubs

It’s all well and good for Amazon to trumpet its Cyber Monday deals and its improved fulfillment processes, but in a follow-up to the rollout of its Cyber Monday price busters, the company is also pushing its customers to consider using alternative pickup locations and consolidate deliveries.

Amazon is urging holiday shoppers to use brick-and-mortar retail locations and neighborhood “hubs” to pick up their packages as it reinforces itself for a spike in online orders. Hub locations include self-service kiosks like Amazon lockers, and most of the people-hosted pickup counters are located inside or near local retail stores. Added up, Amazon says those hubs and lockers can be found in more than 900 cities and towns across the U.S. 

“This year many customers and their families are opting to stay home so the challenge of keeping those special gifts under wraps from family, friends or loved ones is going to be greater than ever,” John Felton, vice president of Amazon’s global delivery services, said in a statement.

“We’re helping customers keep their orders a surprise this year and have a number of ways we’re providing them more flexibility, control and convenience over their deliveries—whether that’s ordering to an alternative pickup location, tracking their package en route to their home, or consolidating their deliveries to a single day so they can plan ahead.”

How to use Amazon’s delivery alternatives

Amazon’s reason for suggesting alternative delivery or pickup is pretty straightforward. For one thing, it saves the company lots of money since it can lessen the number of last-mile delivery trips to get a package to a specific address. The “last mile” part in the delivery chain is a huge link because it’s rather labor-intensive and expensive.

Some of Amazon’s own FAQs about alternative delivery to hubs and kiosks include:

How do you use it? “To use an Amazon Hub location simply find a convenient location and add it to your Amazon address book or search for it when prompted at checkout. Then, select it as your delivery address,” the company says.

Then, once a parcel has been delivered, Amazon will email the customer a collection barcode. All that's left at that point is to visit the selected Locker or Counter to collect the parcel. Once a customer gets to a Locker, they will scan the barcode to access their delivery. If they’re using a counter location, the store assistant will scan the barcode before handing over the parcel.

What is the difference between Locker and Counter? Lockers are simply self-service kiosks where customers can collect or return their Amazon parcels at a time that's convenient for them, 24/7. Counters can be found at retail locations such as convenience stores; parcels at these locations will be handed over by a staff member in store.

How much does using Amazon Hub cost? There is no transaction fee associated with shipping to an Amazon Hub, but there is one caveat: Amazon Hub locations aren't eligible for Release-Date Delivery.

How long do I have to pick up my parcel? There’s some flexibility in pickup times, but it doesn’t last forever and it varies between Lockers and Counters. Customers have 3 calendar days to pick up their parcel from a Locker and 14 calendar days to pick up their parcel from a Counter. If you're not able to collect your parcel within this time frame, it will automatically be returned for a refund.

How do I sign up for the service? Amazon customers who opt in for the alternative delivery options have to do one very important thing at checkout online: search and select the most convenient location for them when prompted. 

Can you return an item to an Amazon Hub location? Absolutely. 

Will Alexa blow my cover? Good question. Amazon says that its Alexa device will keep mum on who an item is for, even if a customer asks, “Where’s my stuff?” or checks their delivery update notifications. If a customer likes, they can also mark an item as a gift during checkout and Alexa will not reveal the names of those items either. 

“Customers who want to be extra cautious of keeping those gifts under wraps or are worried they might forget to mark an item as a gift during checkout can also change their settings for item names in the Alexa app to hide all titles,” the company suggested.

And what is “Amazon Day”?

Another fair request that Amazon is asking its customers to consider is receiving all of their deliveries as a single delivery on a specific day that it’s dubbed “Amazon Day.” The company says Amazon Day is free to Prime members in the U.S. If they so choose, Prime members can opt to receive all of their orders on one day of the week, often in fewer boxes, to reduce the number of packages and deliveries.

Eligible items can typically be ordered for Amazon Day delivery up to two days before a customer’s chosen day. Interested consumers can learn more here.

---

Editor's Note: The headline of the story has been modified to clarify that Amazon's alternative package delivery options are not being offered due to any existing "delivery crunch."

It’s all well and good for Amazon to trumpet its Cyber Monday deals and its improved fulfillment processes, but in a follow-up to the rollout of its Cyber...

Article Image

Most consumers are ‘anxious’ about shopping in stores this holiday season, poll finds

With the number of COVID-19 infections continuing to climb, a Deloitte poll has found that more than half of consumers (57 percent) are anxious about shopping in stores over the holidays. 

Deloitte conducted the survey between October and early November and found that the percentage of consumers who are anxious about shopping in stores has only increased since September. Deloitte officials said the figure is likely even higher now.

“My guess is that percentage is probably even higher now,” said Rod Sides, Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. leader for retail, wholesale and distribution. The pandemic is “driving folks online and changing behavior,” he said.

Deloitte said consumer anxiety stemming from the health crisis is likely to fuel an increase in online spending this holiday shopping season. Sixty-one percent of consumers are planning to shop online this Black Friday, according to the poll. 

Shaping shopping behaviors

Although the days following Thanksgiving are typically big days for group shopping trips, Deloitte found that this year is likely to be different. Around 60 percent of consumers said they’re either “unsure” or “have no plans” to shop with family and friends this week. 

“We’re not going to have a meaningful vaccine rollout, even with the great news this week, in time to have people feel comfortable from a holiday perspective,” Sides said. “So I think this one is going to turn out to be predominantly online.”

Nearly two-thirds of consumers (74 percent) said they plan to shop online during the week of Thanksgiving in order to avoid crowds, according to the survey. That’s up from 62 percent a year ago. 

The poll results come as health officials urge Americans to avoid traveling and mingling with people outside of their household this Thanksgiving holiday period. The U.S. has reported a million new cases of COVID-19 per week for the past few weeks.   

Aware of the health risks of shopping in stores, a number of retailers have already started rolling out Black Friday-like deals. Walmart has planned three Black Friday-esque shopping events, and Target’s Black Friday sales have been going on for weeks now. Other retailers that have launched early deals in stores and on their websites include Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Best Buy.  

With the number of COVID-19 infections continuing to climb, a Deloitte poll has found that more than half of consumers (57 percent) are anxious about shopp...

Article Image

Black Friday car shoppers will need to do some extra homework

A new car is one of the big-ticket gifts people sometimes give themselves or a family member, but shoppers looking for a Black Friday bargain may have to look a little harder this year.

Industry analysts say dealers have less wiggle room and are likely to stay closer to the sticker price. Because of the pandemic, new car inventories are running low.

The pandemic forced the closure of U.S. assembly plants for about six weeks in the spring. As the factories reopened and the industry tried to catch up, demand for new and used cars accelerated. People who normally relied on public transit and ride-sharing suddenly found they needed a car.

Edmunds, an automotive data company, reports the average discount from MSRP for new vehicles dropped to $2,046 in October, nearly 23 percent less than last year. Because of a shortage of 2020 models, Edmunds predicts that more than half the cars sold this month will be 2021 models, which will carry fewer incentives and discounts.

‘Mostly just hype’

"This Black Friday is looking much different in terms of sales compared to the blowout bargain events promoted in years past," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of insights. "Although automakers are doing a good job of broadcasting a 'buy now' message to shoppers with holiday advertising campaigns, they're mostly just hype.”

The reality, says Caldwell, is that there is less of a transition phase between model years as 2020 draws to a close. For that reason, the dealers feel like they’re firmly in the driver’s seat.

“Dealers and automakers aren't facing the overwhelming pressure to sweeten deals to clear out their lots," she said.

Shoppers aren’t going to find things are much more accommodating on the used car lot. Cox Automotive recently reported used car prices gained momentum throughout the summer as demand increased and inventories shrank. 

Higher prices for used cars too

“Higher wholesale prices were supported by strong retail demand and below-normal levels of supply that eased in September as seasonal demand normalized and supply increased modestly,” Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathon Smoke said last month.

Supplies of used cars rose slightly at the beginning of November but remain about 3 million units lower than at the beginning of 2019.

New car shoppers with a fairly recent model to trade in may find they have slightly more bargaining power since dealers are actively seeking to replenish their used car stocks. Research the trade-in value of your vehicle using Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book and negotiate that price just as firmly as the new vehicle price.

National used car dealers Carmax and Carvana purchase vehicles directly from consumers. NPR recently reported that a Maryland consumer sold his 2014 Volkswagen Jetta, which he purchased in 2016, for $1,800 more than he paid for it.

A new car is one of the big-ticket gifts people sometimes give themselves or a family member, but shoppers looking for a Black Friday bargain may have to l...

Article Image

Best Buy begins offering some Black Friday deals

Best Buy has released its Black Friday ad circular and begun offering deals on many popular items, well in advance of the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season.

The company says hundreds of deals listed in the ad are available on BestBuy.com and in stores starting today and lasting through Nov. 1. The objective is to make it easier and safer to shop during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The electronics and appliance retailer is offering discounts on a wide range of its inventory, with a special emphasis on TV sets. Among the deals available this weekend:

  • $150 off on a Lenovo Core i3 laptop (sale price: $299)  

  • $250 off on a Lenovo Yoga Core i5 laptop (sale price: $549)  

  • $200 off on an Asus gaming laptop (sale price: $799) 

  • $220 off on a Samsung 70-inch 4K Smart TV (sale price: $529)  

  • $250 off on a Hisense 65-inch 4K Smart TV (sale price: $249)  

  • $70 off on an Insignia 32-inch Smart Fire TV Edition HD TV (sale price: $99)   

  • $999 for a Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF24-105MM, plus a free 12-inch tabletop ring light  

  • $300 off on a KitchenAid Pro5 Plus Series stand mixer in Ink Blue (sale price: $199)  

  • $150 off on Dyson Cyclone V10 Animal Pro Cordless Stick Vacuum (sale price: $399)  

  • Save up to $750 on Samsung GS20 5G family of mobile phones  

  • $100 off on a Bose QC35 headphones (sale price: $199)  

  • Save 50 percent on GreatCall devices, including the Jitterbug Smart 2 and the Lively Flip smartphone 

Closed on Thanksgiving Day

In the COVID-19 era, most major retailers have decided they don’t need to be open on Thanksgiving Day and Best Buy is no exception. After all, every e-commerce survey suggests there will be a huge increase in online shopping this year.

But on Black Friday, Nov. 27, Best Buy will open stores at 5 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. local time, Stores will open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Sunday that weekend.

“We’ve also extended our holiday hours in our stores to accommodate shoppers this holiday season, so our doors are now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time,” the company said in a press release.

Best Buy says it plans additional promotions between now and Black Friday, with the next one running Nov. 5-8. 

Best Buy has taken several steps to enhance safety in stores. The retailer said there will be a shopping guide at the entrance to the store to help customers quickly find what they’re looking for, limiting the time they spend in the store.

In fact, Best Buy will continue a current policy that limits the number of customers in the store at the same time. As always, shoppers will be required to wear a face-covering while inside the store.

Best Buy has released its Black Friday ad circular and begun offering deals on many popular items, well in advance of the official kickoff of the holiday s...

Article Image

Home Depot rolls out Black Friday deals

The Home Depot is the latest retailer to get a jump on Black Friday, announcing it will stretch the event through most of November. It’s also released its holiday deals circular.

The 18-page ad lists deals that will begin Nov. 6 and last through Dec. 2, if supplies last that long. Many of the deals will only be available online as company officials hope to keep stores from becoming overcrowded amidst a pandemic.

Among the deals are home furnishings, power tools, and holiday decor. The ad promotes a wide range of tools and 40 percent off some appliances.

Some prices have been marked down more than 50 percent, including a $199 decorated Christmas tree that will sell for $79. A 270-piece tool set from Husky will go for $99, significantly less than the $530 Home Depot would charge if all the pieces were purchased separately.

Home Depot stores will be open on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but in an interview with USA Today, CEO Ted Decker said the company is spreading out the bargains in hopes people will spread out as well.

“Not wanting to drive that sort of traffic and crowds to our stores, we are extending the holiday period,” Decker said. “We will still have values, but they will start in early November.”

Everybody’s doing it

Home Depot joins Amazon, Lowe’s, Target, and Walmart -- among other retailers -- in encouraging early holiday shopping. Last week, Walmart released its holiday ad circular, with deals on toys, electronics, and apparel.

One reason for the early push is concern that some items could be scarce later in the holiday season. The Wall Street Journal reports that many manufacturers are having trouble keeping up with demand, and that if a new refrigerator is on your wishlist, there may be fewer choices if you wait until just before the holidays.

Apparently, the shortages are not just related to supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Because so many consumers have recently undertaken home improvement projects, The Journal reports paint producers are having difficulty finding enough cans to meet demand.

Smaller selection of cars

There has also been no letup in demand for new cars, which could be in short supply by the time mid-December rolls around. Auto assembly plants shut down for several weeks during the spring and have had a hard time catching up to demand as consumers have abandoned ride-sharing and mass transit during the pandemic.

Another reason to shop early is potential delay in delivery. With the anticipated surge in online shopping this holiday season, delivery companies will be working at full capacity and beyond.  

Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation, recently told CBS News that the surge in online orders is overwhelming the delivery system, beginning with Amazon’s Prime Day earlier this month.

“The capacity doesn’t exist to address all the increase in sales that we saw,” he said.

The Home Depot is the latest retailer to get a jump on Black Friday, announcing it will stretch the event through most of November. It’s also released its...

Article Image

Walmart plans three Black Fridays to help cope with COVID-19

How exactly do retailers plan to maintain social distancing on Black Friday when stores are traditionally crammed with shoppers? Walmart’s answer is to have three Black Fridays.

The retailer has announced that “Black Friday Deals for Days” will be made up of three sales events, with the first beginning online on Nov. 4. That sales event will feature deals on toys, electronic, and home products, and it will move to Walmart stores on Nov. 7.

Walmart will launch its second event on Nov. 11, again starting online. The sale will feature TV sets, computers, tablets, and entertainment media. The event will move to stores on Nov. 14. The final event will begin online on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. In-store sales will follow on Nov. 26, the traditional Black Friday.

And new this year, customers will have the option to pick up their online Black Friday order through the retailer’s contact-free curbside pickup service.

“Although this year’s event looks different, our commitment to what our customers depend on us for – the absolute best prices of the season on hot gifts from top brands – hasn’t changed,” said Scott McCall, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S.

Unique sales and deals

Walmart says shoppers will find deals on brands like HP, Instant Pot, LEGO, L.O.L. Surprise!, Roku and Shark, including some it says will be exclusive to Walmart. The retailer also promises to have plenty of the sale items in stock.

During the first event, Walmart says it’s deals will include a  42-inch UHD Roku TV for $88 and popular Hotel Style bath towels for $5.

The second event will feature marked down prices of Apple and Samsung mobile phones, and the final event will include sales on all categories of gifts, including toys and apparel. 

Getting a head start

Walmart is not only dividing up its holiday sales promotions, it’s also getting a head start on Black Friday -- a trend other retailers have adopted. A survey conducted in September for RetailMeNot found that many consumers plan to shop early this year because of the pandemic.

Most of the people in the survey said they will probably do most of their shopping online this year, continuing a trend that began with the initial coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. The most common reason given for shopping early was to avoid delivery delays and retailers being out of stock.

In fact, an overwhelming number of respondents -- 88 percent -- said they may complete all of their purchases online and will not shop for traditional door-buster deals on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

How exactly do retailers plan to maintain social distancing on Black Friday when stores are traditionally crammed with shoppers? Walmart’s answer is to hav...

Article Image

Consumers break spending records on Black Friday

Consumers spent a record-breaking $7.4 billion during this year’s Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics

Adobe, which looks at sales at 80 of the top 100 online retailers in the nation, found that purchases of computers, tablets, and smartphones accounted for many purchases. Top electronics included Air Fryers, Apple’s AirPods, and Samsung televisions. 

Consumers spent an average of $168 per person -- an increase of 6 percent over last year. 

This year’s Black Friday figures were up by $1.2 billion from 2018 and represented the biggest numbers for digital sales in history, coming second only to last year’s Cyber Monday total of $7.9 billion. However, this year’s Black Friday sales total was slightly lower than Adobe’s prediction of $7.5 billion. 

Uptick in smartphone purchases 

This year, a large share of online sales transactions took place on smartphones. Adobe found that $2.9 billion sales poured in from mobile devices on Friday -- the highest total ever. 

Half of consumers will choose to shop on a smartphone this holiday season, even when they have a desktop or laptop at their disposal, Adobe said in its report.

Consumers’ decreasing tolerance for standing in lines was further reflected in the 43 percent increase in buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) orders. Adobe said the increase in these sales suggested that many retailers are “successfully bridging online and offline retail operations.”

Adobe expects Cyber Monday 2019 to shatter records, as well. The firm predicts spending will hit $9.4 billion -- an 18.9 percent increase from last year. 

Consumers spent a record-breaking $7.4 billion during this year’s Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Adobe, which looks at sales at...

Article Image

Beware of scammers looking to take your money this Black Friday

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, consumers can’t afford to throw caution to the wind with the internet of things being the minefield of scams that it is.

ConsumerAffairs did some homework on what bushes scammers are hiding behind and found some new precautions readers should take before a supposedly good deal bites them in the back on Friday.

Secret Sister gift exchange

Based on the long-running “Secret Santa” office gift exchange, Secret Sister is nothing more than a pyramid scheme tailored for the holidays. This time around, the scam’s new wrinkle is a wine exchange. 

The red flags for this scam include providing personal data, providing the personal information of some friends, and receiving an email or social media invitation requesting that a modest gift or bottle of wine be sent to someone you don’t know. 

More simply put, the Better Business Bureau says that if someone promises a bunch of gifts or cash, stop right there and don’t go an inch further: 

“Keep in mind that pyramid schemes are international. Chain letters involving money or valuable items and promise big returns are illegal. Stop and ask, is it worth breaking the law? Report it instead to the U.S. Postal Inspection Services,” the organization said.

Attachments from retailers

Retailers don’t typically send attachments. They’d rather give you a link that goes directly to their online store. Attachments are the hiding place of choice for malware, and once you click on one, all bets are off.

Too good to be true? 

If a deal has you licking your chops over being able to score the deal of the century, stop right where you are and think. Cybercriminals know that there’s a sucker born every minute, and the holidays are a spawning season. If you see an OMG-worthy deal, pick up the phone and call the company directly to confirm the authenticity of the offer.

The devil’s in the details

Hidden inside coupons and deals might be an exclusion that prevents consumers from getting a discount on, say, a certain brand or products within a specific department. Unfortunately, “store-wide” coupons don’t always mean “store-wide” like one would think. Before you hurry off to the store, read every single caveat on the coupon.Reading the fine print goes beyond just the advertisement, according to the New York State Division of Consumer Protection. 

“When purchasing big-ticket items, consumers should look for and review warranty coverage on the specific item. Consumers should also check stock availability at the store. It’s also important for consumers to review the financing options carefully,” the agency stated.

“As consumers comb retail advertisements, they should take note of the fine print and the quantity of the product available at the advertised price, as well as whether rain checks are available.”

Some gift cards will only give you a headache

Scammers love gift cards -- so much so that cyber thieves made off with nearly $75 million in scams related to these cards in the last three months alone. So, what better time than Black Friday to set a trap for consumers looking even harder for a good deal on a gift card? 

The sad part of the equation is that it’s the consumer’s trust that usually does them in. Little do unsuspecting consumers know that the gift card they buy from a third party might be counterfeit, non-activated, or past the five-year usage window

Why are gift card scams so hot? Statista’s Maria Vultaggio says that part of the reason is that it allows scammers to remain anonymous.

“A con artist will usually target a senior or small business, and pretend to be a grandchild, tax collector, or use another alias. They convince the victim to buy them a gift card and then read the number over the phone. Once the transaction is complete, it’s difficult to reverse,” she said.

Whether gift cards are your gift of choice -- or you’re a giftcrastinator and opt for a gift card because you ran out of time to do any real shopping -- do yourself a favor and buy the gift cards at a grocery store or directly from a retailer. At least you’ll have a receipt proving it’s legit and activated properly. 

Make sure the site is secure

Over the past couple of years, the internet powers that be have forced websites to prove they’re secure. The way you can tell if a site is safe and secure is if its web address begins with “https.” If it doesn’t have that “s” on the end, there’s no guarantee that any business you do on the site or any information you share with it is safe.

Desperate people do desperate things 

Scammers are smart enough to realize that consumers can go to desperate lengths to have something no one else has -- especially toys. If you get an email from someone or company you don’t know promising a deal on a hard-to-find gift, it may be a cyber creep on a phishing expedition. Smart consumers will mark those emails as spam and delete them as fast as they come in.

Eye-popping airfares

Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Travel Tuesday, budget airlines have been known to try and conjure up some extra business by dangling wickedly cheap fares in front of consumers. While it doesn’t qualify as a scam, per se, consumers should pay close attention to all the disclaimers and restrictions underneath the come-on of the deal.

“Budget airlines like Norwegian Air, Spirit, or Frontier will advertise insanely cheap fares this month in comparison to 5-star carriers like Lufthansa or Japan Airlines,” Jesse Neugarten, the founder of DollarFlightClub.com, told ConsumerAffairs. “Don't be fooled. Once you add up all the fees to select the seats you want, purchase food, and pay for baggage and other ancillary upgrades, it's not exactly a deal anymore.”

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, consumers can’t afford to throw caution to the wind with the internet of things being the minefield o...

Article Image

Retailers are counting down to Black Friday

With Black Friday coming up at the end of the week, retailers are putting the final touches on their plans, competing for both online and brick-and-mortar sales.

Target says it will offer early access to some of its best Black Friday deals on Wednesday -- if you happen to be a RedCard holder or belong to Target circle. The early access will begin at 6 p.m. CST.

RedCard holders will get access to special deals on Target.com and in the Target app. RedCard holders will receive an additional 5 percent off all purchases.

Walmart will also start offering some Black Friday deals on Wednesday, starting at 10 p.m. EST., on Walmart.com -- a prelude to the main event that will begin Thanksgiving evening. Some of the biggest deals will be on apparel, electronics, home furnishings, and toys. 

Deals on toys include Disney Frozen 2 Fold & Go Arendelle Castle, Hover-1 All-Star Hoverboard, and LEGO Classic or Duplo Creative Box.

Retro spin on toy shopping

Putting a retro spin on toy shopping this holiday season, eBay is offering parents a way to stand out and maybe surprise their children. The online shopping site says it’s offering everything from collectible Star Wars action figures to new Kindi Kids dolls, from the My Size Barbie of yesterday to the Astronaut Barbie of today.

Sam Bright, vice president and general manager of Merchandising at eBay, says if a toy was popular once upon a time, there’s a good chance it will be popular with today’s kids.

"There's a revival of all things retro right now and we're seeing classic toys gaining popularity alongside the most coveted new offerings,” Bright said, “The thing is, it isn't always easy for shoppers to cross the vintage and hard-to-find gifts off their lists." 

Toys for parents too

Because collectors often use eBay to sell items Bright says it’s not uncommon to find toys that span the decades. And it’s not just children who might want some of these classic toys under the tree. Millennials often want to get their hands on remakes of the games they played with as kids, such as the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite.

Meanwhile, Amazon is in the midst of a seven-day Black Friday Deals Week with new deals offered each day leading up to the big day itself. Recent deals have included Walker’s Razor Slim headphones for $27.29 to $39.79.

With Black Friday coming up at the end of the week, retailers are putting the final touches on their plans, competing for both online and brick-and-mortar...

Article Image

Amazon is providing an early look at its Black Friday deals

Amazon is doing a slow reveal of some of its Black Friday bargains after Walmart and Target have also begun to whet shoppers’ appetites.

Like last year, the online retailer plans to stage a “Black Friday deals week,” with daily deals starting Friday, Nov. 22 and running through Black Friday itself, Nov. 29.

Deals cover several different categories. Deals on Amazon devices include:

  • Echo Dot is $27.99 off – $22.00 or a 3-pack for $64.97;

  • All-new Echo Dot with clock is $25 off, taking the price to $34.99;

  • Echo Show 5 is $40 off, reducing the price to  $49.99;

  • All-new Echo is $40 off –  $59.99; and

  • Echo Input is $20 off – $14.99.

Amazon is marking down several products among its own brands. Some of them are:

  • Up to 50 percent off on men's and women’s clothing from Amazon Brands, including Amazon Essentials, Goodthreads, Daily Ritual, and The Drop;

  • A 30 percent discount on bedding & bath for the family from AmazonBasics, Stone & Beam and Rivet;

  • Up to 30 percent off on furniture from Rivet and Stone & Beam;

  • Up to 30 percent off on office furniture and supplies from AmazonBasics; and

  • Up to 30 percent on phone accessories from AmazonBasics.

A lot of toys made the list of daily deals. They include up to 40 percent off on:

  • The LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Millennium Falcon;

  • Tricycles and the 3-in-1 Wagon from Radio Flyer;

  • The KidKraft Cinderella Royal Dream House; and

  • The Little Tikes Bake n’ Grow Kitchen.

The retailer is marking down select strategy games, Glitter Girls fashion dollars and accessories, Barbie toys, and Hot Wheels by up to 30 percent.

Free music expansion

Amazon has also announced that its free music service, previously playable only on the Amazon Echo, will now be accessible on more devices. The ad-supported music streaming service can be played on iPhones, Android devices, and Fire TV.

The free music service can be used to play radio stations or create playlists, much like Pandora’s free service. Amazon also provides a music streaming service that is part of its Prime membership.

For other gift ideas and discounts, the shopping monitor website BestBlackFriday.com has published Black Friday ad scans for other major retailers.

Amazon is doing a slow reveal of some of its Black Friday bargains after Walmart and Target have also begun to whet shoppers’ appetites.Like last year,...

Article Image

Target now offers same-day shipping on its app

Ahead of Black Friday, Target has added same-day delivery service to its app. Previously, the retailer only offered the service on its desktop website. 

Consumers with iOS and Android devices can now request fast shipping on Target’s official app. The service, which Target offers in partnership with Shipt, costs $10 per delivery. However, those who pay $99 annually can get unlimited deliveries on orders of $35 or more. 

Target also announced on Thursday that it’s giving its customers free same-day shipping on orders of $75 or more when they use the Target app or Target.com from November 17 through November 26. 

“Millions of guests love using the Target app to shop, save and get what they need quickly—and it’s a game-changer during the busy holiday season,” Dawn Block, senior vice president, digital, Target said in a statement. “Adding same-day delivery to our app is another way we’re making it easier and faster for guests to get the same great value, curated products and top-notch guest service they’ve come to expect from Target, all while placing an order online or directly from their phone.”

Expediting deliveries

Target says customers can get same-day delivery on alcohol, groceries, and wide selection of other products.

As the holiday shopping season gets underway, other retailers have also started offering faster deliveries. Walmart recently announced the expansion of its next-day delivery service and promised to offer the service nationwide before the end of the year. 

Earlier this year, Amazon announced that it would invest $800 million in shortening its delivery times from two days to one day for Prime members. 

Ahead of Black Friday, Target has added same-day delivery service to its app. Previously, the retailer only offered the service on its desktop website....

Article Image

Target reveals its Black Friday plans, along with a peek at the deals

With Black Friday 22 days away, Target has begun to roll out what it calls its “HoliDeals,” with sale prices on merchandise like home furnishings, electronics, and toys.

As part of the rollout, the retailer offered a preview of its Black Friday ad. In years past, stores went to great lengths to keep this ad under wraps. Target stores will also hold a two-day Black Friday preview sale this weekend with an increased number of bargains.

Members of its Target Circle loyalty program will get first crack at the deals as the company is providing early access to consumers who have signed up for the new promotion. RedCard holders will also be included.

“This is the busiest time of year for our guests, and with the shortened season, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to cross everything off their holiday list at Target,” said Rick Gomez, executive vice president, chief marketing and digital officer, Target. “And with our biggest investment ever in guest service, our teams will be ready to help guests shop and save with ease this holiday season.”

Target is increasing its seasonal staff

In September, Target announced it would hire more than 130,000 seasonal workers to help it meet the Christmas rush. The company said about 125,000 workers would fill in-store positions and about 8,000 would be placed in distribution and fulfillment center jobs. Target will pay workers a minimum starting wage of $13 per hour.

The Black Friday Two-Day Preview Sale will run Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9. Target shoppers will have access to some of the Black Friday sale items during the event that will last all day both days.

The sale items will include:

  • TCL 40” 1080p Smart LED Roku TV for  $169.99 

  • Nikon D3500 18-55mm Camera $399.99 

  • Discount on top-selling mobile devices

  • $200 Target GiftCard with the purchase of the newest generation iPhones

  • Jetson Strike Hoverboard $95 

  • Beats Solo3 headphones $129.99

The day before Thanksgiving, Target says its RedCard holders and Target Circle members will get early access to some of the best Black Friday deals. RedCard holders will get an additional 5 percent off purchases that day.

Black Friday itself will start Thanksgiving morning on Target.com. Target stores will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and remain open until 1 a.m. Friday. Stores will reopen at 7 a.m. for the main event and the 2019 holiday shopping season will officially be underway.

With Black Friday 22 days away, Target has begun to roll out what it calls its “HoliDeals,” with sale prices on merchandise like home furnishings, electron...

Article Image

Consumers set Black Friday spending records

Retailers offered attractive doorbuster deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and consumers rewarded them with record spending.

So far only the data on online spending has been tabulated, and those numbers are eye-popping. Adobe Analytics, which monitors traffic for 80 percent of the major online retailers, reports consumers spent $6.22 billion online on Black Friday, an increase of nearly 24 percent over 2017.

However, Thanksgiving Day sales were even more impressive in terms of their growth. Adobe reports online spending on Thanksgiving totaled $3.7 billion, a 28 percent increase over last year. Adobe also noted that, for the first time, the prices on Thanksgiving Day were as low as those on Black Friday.

Phil Dengler, a principal at shopping site BestBlackFriday.com, says this year's Black Friday deals compared very favorably to last year.

"While quantities were limited on the some of the top doorbusters, I would say Black Friday is only improving," Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. "Many more deals are available online now, and more stores are participating."

Other emerging trends included the increasing use of smartphones to place online orders. Adobe found a third of Black Friday's online sales originated on smartphones for a total of $2 billion. Consumers also made significant use of brick and mortar options to buy online and pick items up at the store. Adobe said "click and collect" orders were up 73 percent over last year.

Foot traffic was down

With increasing options to buy without having to actually go inside a store, foot traffic was down on Black Friday. The New York Times found several malls around the country it surveyed were not any more crowded than on a typical Friday.

In years past, stores usually stocked a limited number of sale items, creating a frenzy among shoppers and sometimes dangerous stampedes. The Times reports that was largely absent this year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that initial calculations show that Black Friday foot traffic in stores was lower than last year, continuing a trend that began with the surge in online shopping over the last decade.

That said, brick and mortar stores did very well. According to real-time data supplied by Mastercard, overall sales on Black Friday reached $23 billion, a 9 percent increase over 2017.

Cyber Monday deals

Some retailers like Target and Amazon have expanded today's Cyber Monday sales into a week-long event by offering discounted items each day. Amazon's deals today include a wifi-connected smart pressure cooker for $89.95, marked down from $149.95; and an Ancestry DNA testing kit for $49, discounted from $99.

Among Target's Cyber Monday deals is a Swagtron Metro hoverboard for $150, marked down from $230, and up to 50 percent off on hundreds of toys.

Retailers offered attractive doorbuster deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and consumers rewarded them with record spending.So far only the data o...

Article Image

After a huge buildup, consumers may be ready to shop this Black Friday

Americans may pause for a long holiday weekend filled with feasting and football, but for the nation's retailers, it's showtime.

By now, consumers should be aware of the deals available from all the brick-and-mortar and online stores since the ad slicks have all leaked and are published all over the internet. You can check out some of the best deals here. The next few days will be all about making the sale -- getting consumers into the stores and onto the websites.

Some stores will be open for at least a few hours on Thanksgiving Day. Nearly all will open at the crack of dawn on Black Friday. Our friends at BestBlackFriday.com have compiled this handy list of store openings.

Amazon has been rolling out daily deals since the beginning of November, but it’s saving its doorbusters for the big day itself. Target and Walmart have also tried to entice consumers with early online deals. It seems to be working.

Early online sales are up over last year

Verizon tracks digital commerce with its Holiday Retail Index and reports that consumers are buying more online at this point than last year. Traffic was up 4.19 percent on Saturday compared to the last Saturday before Thanksgiving 2017. On Sunday, it was up over 14 percent compared to last year.

"The early engagement from retailers appears to be paying off as traffic this year continues to grow from years past," said Michele Dupré, group vice president of Retail, Hospitality & Distribution, Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “A strong trend in consumer confidence is highlighted by shopper’s interest in the early Black Friday deals that we started learning about in early November. The challenge will be to see if this trend can be maintained throughout the season."

An analysis by Internet Retailer projects consumers will spend nearly 120 billion online in November and December, a 15 percent increase over last year's total. Meanwhile, consumers are being urged not to overlook their local, independent merchants.

"America's 30 million small businesses reflect the unique character of their communities and Small Business Saturday is a day for consumers to support the local retailers that make their towns and cities special," said U.S. Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon. "When Americans shop at small businesses, they are supporting economic activity and job growth in their neighborhoods during this holiday season."

The deals will continue on Cyber Monday, but most probably won't be announced until the weekend so they don't upstage Black Friday. Retail analysts say Cyber Monday may offer some of the best deals of the long weekend since retailers can make last minute adjustments to compensate for a less-than-stellar Black Friday.

And if your wallet seems lighter after the long weekend, it probably is. According to a forecast by Salesforce, 40 percent of holiday spending will be done in the first week of the holiday shopping season.

Americans may pause for a long holiday weekend filled with feasting and football, but for the nation's retailers, it's showtime.By now, consumers shoul...

Article Image

Car dealers roll out their best deals for Black Friday

The nation's car dealers are making a bid for a bigger slice of Black Friday spending this year by rolling out dozens of deals they hope will entice holiday shoppers into new car showrooms.

If past years are any indication, the strategy will work. People in search of a good price on a new set of wheels may bypass the mall this year.

If you're looking for an SUV, your Ford dealer will be offering zero percent financing for 60 months and $1,500 cash back on a 2018 Ford Escape. It comes with Ford's MyKey, a 4.2-inch display screen, Bluetooth, voice recognition, and a USB port. Options like navigation and adaptive cruise control are part of a higher trim level.

The 2019 Kia Sportage also comes with interest-free financing for 60 months but lacks the cashback offer.  The base model comes with a USB port, satellite radio, and a five-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth. If you upgrade to a higher option package, you get a seven-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Acura lease deal

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) has highlighted a handful of attractive new car deals available in November, all of which will be offered on Black Friday. Acura dealers will be offering the Acura ILX on a 36-month lease for $199 a month. It requires $2,499 down.

For economy-minded shoppers, your Ford dealer is offering $4,000 cash back on the purchase of a Ford Focus. According to KBB, the car sells for around $18,661, meaning you can drive it away for less than $15,000.

Ford is offering $5,000 cash back on the purchase of a Ford Explorer, which KBB says you should be able to purchase for just under $32,000. Chrysler is offering $4,500 on the Jeep Cherokee, with a Fair Purchase Price of just under $30,000.

If you're in the market for an SUV, November is a great time to buy or lease with cash back and lease deals on top models," said Allyson Harwood, associate editor for KBB. "The Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, and Hyundai Tucson offer great value and practicality in a small SUV package. The Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee offer more room at a higher price point, but the savings this month could make them more affordable and worth a closer look."

Lack of confidence

Despite the competitive deal-making, new car sales have slowed in recent months -- reportedly because of market saturation. But a survey by Capital One Auto Finance suggests another possible reason. It found consumer concerns over the current car buying process, particularly transparency and the time it takes to make a purchase.

"The car-buying process does not need to be a source of stress. And this current state of trust and transparency in car-buying needs to be addressed," said Jeff Rabinowitz, managing vice president of Capital One Auto Finance.

The survey found only 6 percent of buyers think the process is completely transparent. Only 20 percent said they feel "very confident" when shopping for a car.

The nation's car dealers are making a bid for a bigger slice of Black Friday spending this year by rolling out dozens of deals they hope will entice holida...

Article Image

Retailers make final preparations for Black Friday

It's the final days before Black Friday, the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and the nation's top retailers are jockeying for position. At stake is potential record holiday spending.

Among the deals designed to entice consumers is Best Buy's offer of a Toshiba 43-inch 4K smart TV for $129.99. Target plans to offer an Element 55-inch Smart 4K UHD TV for $199.99, available only in Target stores.

Walmart is offering a $300 Walmart gift card with the qualifying activation of an iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, or iPhone XR. It ups the ante to a $400 Gift Card with qualifying activation of Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8+, or iPhone X.

For its part, Amazon has been offering up deals for several days with its "Countdown To Black Friday" sale. According to shopping site BestBlackFriday.com, the online retailer is sitting on its best deals and saving them for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.

Looking ahead

Meanwhile, Target is looking ahead to next week, kicked off by Cyber Monday. However, the retailer is spreading the deals over the entire week, starting Sunday, Nov. 25. On Cyber Monday, Target will offer online shoppers 15 percent off on hundreds of thousands of items spread across all departments.

Among the advertised deals is a Swagtron Metro hoverboard with LED lights for $150, regularly selling for $229.99. Deals on vacuums include the iRobot Roomba 960 for $449.99 and Dyson V8 Absolute for $349.99.

More buying moves to online channels each holiday season, and the same is anticipated this year. An analysis by Internet Retailer projects consumers will spend nearly 120 billion online in November and December, a 15 percent increase over last year's total.

Total spending could rise 5 percent

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts total holiday spending will increase nearly 5 percent over 2017 and reach $720 billion, although other estimates suggest spending could top $1 trillion this holiday season.

“Our forecast reflects the overall strength of the industry,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Thanks to a healthy economy and strong consumer confidence, we believe that this holiday season will continue to reflect the growth we’ve seen over the past year."

NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said consumers continue to do the heavy lifting to support the economy and attributes their efforts to robust job creation, higher pay, and tame inflation.

It's the final days before Black Friday, the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and the nation's top retailers are jockeying for position. At...

Article Image

Walmart goes public with its Black Friday plans

Walmart has taken the wraps off its plans for Black Friday deals, publishing its ad in hopes that shoppers will add those items to their shopping lists.

The retailer has also introduced 18 Black Friday deals that are available starting today online. Those deals include an RCA 65-inch Class 4K Ultra HD LED TV for $399, marked down from $899. They also include a Lenovo IdeaPad 330s 15.6" Laptop with Windows 10 and an Intel processor, for $349. The regular price is $499.

The Black Friday Ad slick shows a 65-inch 4K Roku smart TV for $398; a Hisense 40-inch HDTV for $99; an iPhone 6 on the Straight Talk wireless plan for $99; a Sony PlayStation 4 1TB Slim with the Spiderman bundle for $199; and the Google Home Hub for $99, a $50 savings.

The company has also revealed additional details about how it plans to entice consumers on the big shopping day. Black Friday deals will go live on Walmart.com at 10 p.m. ET on Nov. 21. , two hours earlier than last year.

In-store parties for customers

On Nov. 22, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. local time, Walmart stores will throw special Black Friday parties for customers. Once the party ends, in-store events get underway with new tools to make it easier to shop.

Earlier this month, Walmart announced it would station cashiers throughout the stores who will be able to check out shoppers without them having to stand in line.

“There really is no bigger or better day of the year than Black Friday; that’s why we are pulling out all the stops to make it a great night for our customers,” said Steve Bratspies, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. “We’re more confident than ever that our customers will find incredible prices on everything on their holiday wish list at Walmart."

Retailers like Walmart are going all-out this year because more may be at stake. With low unemployment and a growing economy, retail analysts expect consumers will significantly move the needle on retail spending. Some estimates suggest spending could reach $1 trillion for the first time.

Target outlines its plans

Earlier this month, Target revealed some of its Black Friday promotions, including roving associates with portable checkout scanners who can help customers skip long checkout lines.

Target has also published its Black Friday ad slick with deals, which include more than 15 TVs under $300 and the lowest price ever on an Element 55” Smart UHD TV -- $199.99. It also promises the lowest price on popular video games such as Madden 19, Destiny 2, NBA 2K19, and FIFA 19.

Target says its Black Friday deals will go live early in the morning of Thanksgiving on Target.com. For consumers who prefer in-store shopping, stores will be open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving until 1 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23. Stores will open again on Friday morning at 7 a.m.

Walmart has taken the wraps off its plans for Black Friday deals, publishing its ad in hopes that shoppers will add those items to their shopping lists....

Article Image

Amazon opens its Black Friday Deals Store

With the turn of the calendar, the countdown to Black Friday is underway.

Amazon is one of the first retailers out of the gate, announcing today that its Black Friday Deals Store is open for business. As part of its promotion, it is introducing new ways for customers to shop and outlining exclusive entertainment options.

The deals store will feature four gift guides this year, along with a toy catalog delivered to consumer's Kindle. The ebook, "A Holiday of Play," provides a rundown on the top toy picks for kids.

As for entertainment, Amazon has secured the rights to stream the Frank Capra classic, "It's a Wonderful Life" on Prime Video. For a number of years, the film was in the public domain and shown constantly on broadcast television during the holidays. The film is once again under copyright and has been subject to limited showings ever since.

More same-day delivery options

Amazon says it's increasing the number of items Prime members can get the same day they order. This year, Prime members can select from more than three million items with free same-day delivery.

At the same time, two-hour delivery from local Whole Foods Market stores is now available in more than 60 cities. And Alexa will instruct holiday chefs on the best way to prepare a Butterball turkey.

Amazon will even deliver real Christmas trees this year. Shoppers can select from 10- to 14-inch Charlie Brown Christmas Trees, which are available now, to the six to seven-foot Fraser firs, balsam firs, and Black Hills spruces. If the tree costs over $25, shipping is free.

Amazon joins Walmart and Target, rivals that recently outlined their offerings for holiday shoppers. This week, Walmart announced it would deploy roving checkout cashiers throughout the store so customers wouldn't have to stand in line.

Last week, Target announced it is offering same-day delivery through Shipt in hundreds of markets in 46 states while expanding its Drive Up service to nearly 1,000 stores.

With the turn of the calendar, the countdown to Black Friday is underway.Amazon is one of the first retailers out of the gate, announcing today that it...

Article Image

Holiday shopping site issues its predictions for Black Friday

Where will the best holiday deals be this season? It's not yet Halloween, but BestBlackFriday.com has issued its predictions for the holiday season.

Black Friday is widely regarded as the best time of the year to buy a TV set and Phil Dengler, a principal at BestBlackFriday.com, says the reputation is richly deserved. Based on what retailers did last year, he says the TV deals should be as good or better this year.

"We are really excited about potential pricing for 4K models this year," Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. "Last year, Best Buy had a Sharp 50-inch 4K LED Smart Roku HDTV deal for only $179.99. For 2018, we are expecting a similar 50-inch 4K TV from a premium brand to also be available for $179.99, which is a complete steal."

Dengler expects shoppers will be able to find a 32-inch HDTV on sale for $70, with 50-inch models starting at around $150.

There should also be plenty of deals on video game consoles, with a predicted price of $399.99 on XBox One bundles and a predicted $274.99 price tag on PS4 Pro bundles. Some bundles may come with extra incentives, like $50 store gift cards.

If toys are included on your shopping list, Dengler says you may want to wait until the second week of December to make a purchase. That's when prices will be at their lowest. The site's top 2018 picks in the toy department include:

  • L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise!

  • Barbie Dreamhouse

  • Imaginext Jurassic World Jurassic Rex

  • Nintendo Switch Smash Bundle

  • Fingerlings HUGS

  • Crate Creatures Surprise

  • Pomsies

New iPhones may be on sale

There may even be some hot Black Friday deals on the latest iPhones. Dengler predicts $0 down financing plans and up to 5 percent discounts for cash purchases. But he notes you might want to shop someplace other than the Apple Store, which hasn't offered any real discounts on iPhones for years.

More holiday sales are expected to migrate to online channels this year, eliminating the need for brick and mortar retailers to open on Thanksgiving Day. Even so, Dengler expects people who want to go shopping at the mall will have plenty of options after Thanksgiving dinner.

"We expect the major retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Sears, Kmart, and JCPenney, to all remain open on Thanksgiving Day," Dengler said. "There is just too much competition among the major retailers, and staying open on Thanksgiving Day has a much greater benefit than closing for the large stores."

But he says 80 national retailers remained closed last Thanksgiving and that number could grow this year.

Where will the best holiday deals be this season? It's not yet Halloween, but BestBlackFriday.com has issued its predictions for the holiday season.Bla...

Article Image

Black Friday competition heating up this week

With Black Friday a week away, retailers are trying to beat each other’s door-buster deals by getting an early jump on the competition.

Amazon today began marking down toys and electronics, including $20 off the Echo Dot, dropping the price to $29.99. It's also taking $20 off the Echo and $30 off the Echo Plus.

Amazon has also started selling a 40-inch smart TV for $279.99 and a Sony 55-inch 4K Ultra smart TV for $999.99. The sale prices are good now until Black Friday, when the retailer will roll out another set of deals.

Walmart has also cut prices on TVs a week ahead of the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season. It's now selling a Samsung 55-inch class curved 4K smart TV for $597.99, more than $400 off the regular price.

It has also cut prices on laptop computers, with the Lenovo Ideapad 320, with a 15.6 inch screen, selling for $259. For those needing more computing power, the Acer Aspire VX 15 gaming notebook is $899, $111 off the list price.

This week Target and Sam's Club showed their Black Friday hands, publishing deals that will be available on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Best Buy is advertising a "beat the Black Friday rush sale," with up to $200 off the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus through Saturday, November 18.

Black Friday now a “season”

"Black Friday is now a season and it seems like the season starts November 1," Tom Arnold, professor of finance at the University of Richmond, told ConsumerAffairs. "The ones that seem to jump right in there seem to do the best. I thought Target did a very good job rolling out their early deals."

Arnold has been watching the growing competition between Walmart and Amazon that has heated up with Black Friday's approach. So far, he gives Walmart high marks.

"They want to take a significant swipe at Amazon and so far it looks like they've been reasonably successful," Arnold said.

This competition is likely to work in the consumer's favor as the holiday shopping season unfolds. Holiday shopping site BestBlackFriday, which has obtained leaked ad slicks, says Black Friday prices for TV sets this year are the lowest it's seen.

Challenge for local merchants

Local merchants can sometimes get overlooked in the competition between big box retailers, but Arnold says they still have the opportunity to compete, especially with online retailers.

"The local business has to offer something the online vendor can't," he said. "It could be in the form of service or better shopping experience."

He said that may be especially important to consumers making last minute gift purchases, worried about potential delivery issues.

With Black Friday a week away, retailers are trying to beat each other’s door-buster deals by getting an early jump on the competition.Amazon today beg...

Article Image

Nix the Black Friday madness or holiday shopping stress

Finding the lowest price tag on a particular gift, keeping wishlists organized or simply staying on top of sales can wind up feeling like a stressful part-time job.

Luckily, the age of online shopping means there are lots of apps that do the hard part for you and can ultimately help to ensure your holiday shopping budget stays intact.

Whether you’re interested in snagging a deal on electronics or saving big on one of the hottest toys of the holiday season, technology can lend a hand in the form of apps that sniff out the best deals online and in stores. 

Here are a few apps that promise to help consumers keep even more money in their pocket on Black Friday and beyond. 

Black Friday savings apps

  • ShopSavvy (iOS and Android). This app will watch for low prices on items you are interested in purchasing and let you know when popular stores are having a sale. It can also be used to scan barcodes while you’re out shopping, so you can compare the price of a particular product across multiple retailers. 
  • DealNews (iOS and Android). Deal experts collect information on special Black Friday deals from thousands of websites and retailers and publish the 300 best ones to the DealNews app. Simply select the stores you plan to visit and receive alerts when retailers mark down prices in-store and online.
  • Flipp (iOS and Android) This app combs through local weekly ads and matches them with hundreds of coupons from over 800 retailers. With Flipp, consumers can ‘clip out’ coupons for a specific store, item, or brand. You can even highlight deals that are relevant to you and save them for easy access later on. 
  • Amazon (iOS and Android). Avoid the remorse of realizing you could have gotten an item for cheaper online by downloading the Amazon’s price comparison app. This app (available for iOS and Android) lets you pull up the Amazon price of any item you see in a store simply by scanning its barcode. If you’re among those who would prefer to stay home this Black Friday, the Amazon app can help you accomplish your shopping from the comfort of home. 
  • Santa’s Bag (iOS) or Christmas Gift List (Android). Between making your list and purchasing all the gifts on it, holiday shopping can feel like a huge undertaking -- but these apps can help simplify the process. You can use them to set a shopping budget, keep a log of gift ideas for people on your list, and keep track of items you’ve already bought. You can also keep track of how much you spent on each gift.

Finding the lowest price tag on a particular gift, keeping wishlists organized or simply staying on top of sales can wind up feeling like a stressful part-...

Article Image

Consumers less likely to shop retail stores this Black Friday

Instead of waking up early to fight the crowds for deals on Black Friday, new research finds more consumers will be staying home this year. 

According to a survey conducted by Accenture Consulting, slightly more than half (52 percent) of shoppers said they are less likely to shop on Black Friday this year, and 42 percent were less likely to shop Cyber Monday compared to previous years. 

Nearly two-thirds of shoppers polled (64 percent) cited crowds are their top reason for avoiding Black Friday shopping. For others, the idea of bargain-hunting outside the home may not seem logical in an age where it’s possible to score great deals on gifts year round.

Age of Amazon

Shoppers plan to do more than half of their holiday shopping from the comfort of their home computer. The expected drop in shopping during the peak holiday shopping days is likely due to the availability of deals and discounts available online 24/7, the study suggested.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers (64 percent) said they shop for holiday gifts throughout the year, taking advantage of discounts available on deal websites. More than four in 10 respondents (44 percent) believed they could get equally good discounts other days of the year, like Amazon Prime day. 

“Given the rise of constant discounts and promotions on sites such as Amazon, consumers are doing more of their holiday shopping year-round, and this is proving to be the biggest competitor to the traditional peak holiday shopping days,” said Jill Standish, senior managing director and head of Accenture’s retail practice. 

Spending less

Consumers who do brave the crowds on Black Friday may be somewhat more frugal this year compared to previous years, likely due to the state of their finances. The study found that the number of consumers who said they plan to spend more this year dropped by 11 percent. 

Fueling consumers’ frugality may be the fact that just 29 percent of respondents said they were optimistic about their financial situation coming into the holiday period, compared with 34 percent last year.

Additionally, shoppers will do their homework before parting with their money to buy holiday gifts. More than four in five shoppers (84 percent) said they check Amazon before looking or buying elsewhere. Three-quarters (76 percent) said they will shop for a product online before purchasing it at a brick-and-mortar store, and roughly the same number said they plan to visit a store to review a product before purchasing it online. 

Findings from the online survey mirrored those of another recent study by Forbes, which found that 75 percent of younger shoppers (those 18 to 35) planned to continue their holiday shopping into the weeks following Black Friday, not just on the day itself. 

Of those who do shop Thanksgiving week, only 35 percent said they would do the majority of their shopping on Black Friday, compared with 51 percent last year and 59 percent in 2015

Instead of waking up early to fight the crowds for deals on Black Friday, new research finds more consumers will be staying home this year. According t...

Article Image

Target store offers sensory-friendly shopping hours for customers with autism

Consumers who choose to go to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday already know what to expect when the doors finally open. The press of people, accompanied by bright lights and loud sounds, is tolerated in order to get a good deal, but what about shoppers whose senses can’t handle that strain?

Many autistic shoppers are often relegated to shopping online to avoid the crowds and sensory overload. But one Target store in Pennsylvania is going the extra mile and creating certain hours on Saturday that cater to these consumers’ needs.

The store, which is located in Lancaster Penn., has stated that it will be conducting quiet hours where store lights will be dimmed, music will be turned off, and foot traffic will be kept to a minimum. This toned-down shopping time will occur between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.

A welcome initiative

This isn’t the first time that a store has taken steps to provide a more sensory-friendly experience. In August, we reported that JC Penney was hosting a back-to-school shopping event for families of children with autism and special needs.

Consumers who participated in the event detailed their appreciation, saying that they felt included instead of “on the outskirts.” In the same way, the Lancaster Target location believes that their initiative will “create a welcoming shopping event for . . . guests on the autism spectrum.”

While Target has not revealed any plans to recreate the event at other store locations, company officials have stated that consumers who want such an event can speak with store managers or team leaders at local locations to try to set one up.

“At Target, we are committed to creating an environment where our team members and guests fell welcome, valued and respected. As part of that commitment, we empower our store leaders to make decisions that help meet the needs of the guests they serve,” the company said in a statement.

Consumers who choose to go to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday already know what to expect when the doors finally open. The press of people, accompa...

Article Image

Online sales power Black Friday

Early indications suggest 2016's holiday sales will outpace initial projections by a wide margin. Sales got off to a red hot pace over the extended Black Friday shopping weekend, with more purchases moving to online channels.

One of the first sales reports comes from Adobe, which tracked $5.2 billion in spending over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a 17.7% increase over last year. At the same time time, brick-and-mortar sales were down from last year.

Black Friday sales alone smashed the old record, logging $3.34 billion, beating last year's mark by 21.6%. Adobe reports Lego Creator Sets, electric scooters from Razor, Nerf Guns, DJI Phantom Drones, and Barbie Dreamhouses made up the five biggest sellers in the toy department on Black Friday. Apple iPads, Samsung 4k TVs, Apple MacBooks Air, LG TVs, and Microsoft Xboxes were the top sellers in the electronics department.

More mobile purchases

Adobe reported mobile platforms drove the majority of visits to retail websites on Black Friday and accounted for 35% of sales. It found large retailers experienced twice the growth in online sales as small retailers since the start of the holiday shopping season.

Rakuten Marketing reported similar findings. It said its data shows mobile sites got 56% of the traffic on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Black Friday's online spending beat last year by 41%.

“Shoppers hit the buy button at unprecedented levels as conversion rates were up nearly a full percent across all devices in the evening hours on Black Friday,” said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst and director, Adobe Digital Insights. “With the full day total coming in at $3.34 billion, Black Friday may have just dethroned Cyber Monday's position as the largest online shopping day of the year.”

How big will Cyber Monday be?

Of course, that remains to be seen. Holiday shopping site BestBlackFriday.com reported that many ecommerce sites started their Cyber Monday specials on Sunday evening, suggesting the sales total could surpass projections. It notes that Apple, Dell, Best Buy, and Target are offering free shipping with no minimum order size, which could spur sales.

Among the hottest Cyber Monday promotions, it has identified Target's 15% off nearly everything in-store and online during the day, as worthy of consumers' attention. It also calls attention to Walmart's over 50% discount on Samsung HDTVs.

Assuming Cyber Monday smashes estimates, the nation's retailers could be on pace for a record holiday sales period.

Early indications suggest 2016's holiday sales will outpace initial projections by a wide margin. Sales got off to a red hot pace over the extended Black F...

Article Image

Consumers appear to give Black Friday a strong start

It appears that predictions consumers would pass on Black Friday were somewhat exaggerated. Consumers are not only crowding stores looking for bargains, they took advantage of the stores that opened on Thanksgiving. Millions more shopped online.

Macy's said there were more than 16,000 shoppers lined up outside its New York flagship store in Harold Square as the doors opened Thanksgiving night. It reports that early sales receipts suggest a lot of people will be finding sweaters and other clothing under the tree this year.

Target also reports a strong start to the big shopping weekend. Not only were stores jammed with shoppers last night, the company says Target.com had it's biggest single sales day ever.

“Shopping at Target has become an annual Thanksgiving tradition for millions of our guests, and we’re thrilled at the response we’ve seen this year,” said Target CEO Brian Cornell. “Based on early results, it’s clear that our deals are cutting through. We expect this momentum to continue throughout the weekend and into next week.”

Target says TV sets were among the most popular items, with consumers buying more than 3,200 sets every minute during the first hour that stores were open. Early indications also point to strong sales of Apple products, including the Apple Watch Series 1.

Hoverboards sold out in minutes

Among toys, Target says LEGO, NERF, and Our Generation were popular items. The Jetson V6 Hoverboard sold out within minutes, the company said.

Amazon, meanwhile, has already jumped ahead to Cyber Monday. The company has unveiled 75,000 deals it plans to offer next week.

The deals include the Amazon Echo for $139.99, a 50 inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $249.99, and 30% off on select clothing, shoes, jewelry, and watches for women, men, kids, and infants.

Last Cyber Monday, Amazon says customers ordered more than 54 million items worldwide, which set a record. It says based on early sales data, it expects that record to be shattered next week.

Did the large number of retailers who took a stand against opening on Thanksgiving miss the boat? Maybe not. CNBC reports the Mall of America, which this year remained closed on the holidays, had even bigger crowds lining up for its Black Friday opening than it did last year.

It appears that predictions consumers would pass on Black Friday were somewhat exaggerated. Consumers are not only crowding stores looking for bargains, th...

Article Image

Why this Black Friday will be different from all others

The year was 2008. The financial markets had just crashed. The consumer zeal to find a limited Black Friday bargain was at its peak.

At a Walmart store on Long Island, a huge, restive crowd had gathered outside in the chilly, early morning hours waiting for the doors to open. As an employee began to unlock the doors, the New York Daily News reported that the crowd wouldn't wait any longer, took the doors off their hinges, and trampled the 34-year old man to death while injuring four shoppers, including a pregnant woman.

The incident caused a lot of people to step back and reassess the absurd craziness that characterized the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season. While there will undoubtedly be isolated, and widely reported, cases of consumer incivility toward one another in pursuit of a bargain on Friday, hopefully there will be no fatalities.

Money and bargains were scarce

After all, there is no need for that. In 2008, not only was money scarce, so were the bargains. Retailers promoted doorbuster deals to draw a crowd but only had a limited number of items at that price. So if you showed up at 4:00 a.m. to get the latest video game console for $99, the people who got in line at 3:00 a.m. got the five units that were available at that price.

In recent years, retailers stocked a lot more of their Black Friday bargains and they began spreading out the times at which they were available. Stores started opening on Thanksgiving, though this year a large number have reversed that policy.

Stores have also made more of their Black Friday deals available online. Instead of spending time driving to the mall and going from store to store, shoppers can look for deals online from the comfort of their homes.

The deals have already started

It's no longer necessary to wait until Black Friday to find bargains, either online or in stores. In fact, Amazon is currently offering numerous sale prices during its Black Friday Deals Week. Walmart has also gotten started with its Pre-Black Friday Deals promotion.

Consumers also have a lot more information about deals than ever before. Retailers have leaked their Black Friday newspaper ads well in advance, which have been collected online at sites like BestBlackFriday.com, making it easier for consumers to find what they want, and at the price they are willing to pay, well ahead of time.

After Black Friday, consumers know they will still be able to find plenty of deals. There's Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, both with non-stop deals.

So in a way, Black Friday is becoming just another busy holiday shopping day. Consumers jamming the aisles are not quite as desperate to latch onto that doorbuster bargain because they know they can probably find it somewhere else.

And that's probably a good thing. Safer, at least.

The year was 2008. The financial markets had just crashed. The consumer zeal to find a limited Black Friday bargain was at its peak.At a Walmart store...

Article Image

What you should and shouldn't buy on Black Friday

The big day is almost here. Friday is the official kickoff to the 2016 holiday shopping season.

But it's almost anti-climactic since retailers have been rolling out Black Friday bargains since Halloween. Still, millions of consumers will crowd stores and go online over the long holiday weekend because there will, in fact, be some pretty spectacular deals.

But be warned. Not everything you can buy on Black Friday is going to be the best price. Personal finance site WalletHub has studied retail prices and found that 78% of items will have a lower price on Black Friday. But 17.3% will actually be more expensive on that day.

If you know what categories are likely to have the most deals you will be less likely to make a costly error. According to WalletHub, you'll do best shopping for video games, appliances, furniture, and computers on Black Friday. You are less likely to save if you buy jewelry, clothing, and consumer electronics.

Retailers with the best deals

When it comes to retailers, Ace Hardware, Big Lots, BJ's, Harbor Freight, and True Value have the largest percentage of low prices, when compared to the same item priced on Amazon prior to Black Friday.

William Joyce, a marketing professor at the Stern School of Business, told WalletHub that consumers should be sure to read the fine print on Black Friday deals, to make sure they understand what they're buying.

Among the best Black Friday deals it's seen so far, WalletHub suggests these may be worth checking out:

  • Samsung refrigerator, 24.5 cubic feet, $899, marked down from $1,347, at AAFES
  • Denon Soundbar with wireless subwoofer; $350, marked down from $557, at Best Buy
  • 15 foot arena trampoline, with basketball hoop, football game, basketball, and football; $250, marked down from $500, at BJ's
  • Kirkland Signature 42-inch mobile 16 drawer tool chest; $499, marked down from $900, at Costco.

A survey by Deloitte shows 79% of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, but an increasing number plan to do their shopping online. In fact, shoppers this year said they plan to spend 51% of the holiday budget online.

Consumers estimate they will spend $400 during the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, up from $369 last year.

The big day is almost here. Friday is the official kickoff to the 2016 holiday shopping season.But it's almost anti-climactic since retailers have been...

Article Image

Countdown to Black Friday is underway

Coming up at the end of the week is the official kickoff to the 2016 holiday shopping season. But chances are consumers have already done some of their shopping. And even for those who plan to shop the day after Thanksgiving, there's less and less need to get up early and wait for a store to open.

Jeff Fagel, chief marketing officer (CMO) at Eyeview, calls Black Friday “buy nothing day,” saying doorbuster deals are no longer grabbing consumers' attention. He suggests consumers should stay home Friday morning.

Phil Dengler, principal at shopping site BestBlackFriday.com, agrees that there are plenty of deals available right now, saying consumers need to stay alert. He notes that Amazon, Kohl's, Toys R Us, and other retailers have already started their online sales, so the deals are available right now.

But Dengler says consumers will have to wait until Wednesday night or Thanksgiving to find the biggest bargains.

“One thing we highly recommend is for everyone to download the apps for their favorite store,” Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. “While this was important last year, its value is growing even more for 2016. In addition to early access for some stores, the apps are a great way to get alerted when deals go live. Since online doorbusters are so competitive, time is of the essence for every online Black Friday deal. We recommend the apps from Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.”

For shoppers going the brick-and-mortar route, Dengler says Thanksgiving will be the biggest day for deals. He says Walmart and other retailers will hand out wristbands for some of their top doorbusters, which will encourage consumers to arrive at stores before the doors open. Here's the site's pick for the top 25 Black Friday deals.

Not everything's cheap on Black Friday

It's long been known that, while there are some pretty good deals on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is not the best day to shop for everything. For example, if the item isn't included in the advertised specials, it's probably selling at its regular retail price on Black Friday.

The Washington Post reports an analysis of price data shows the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is the best time to shop for clothes and the best deals on electronics will be found on Thanksgiving, either at stores that are open or online. Shopping for toys? You might be better off waiting until Cyber Monday.

Cyber Monday, after all, is threatening to eclipse Black Friday as a shopping day. In the days of dial-up internet service, many consumers would wait until they returned to work on Monday to make purchases, using their employers' broadband connections. As more holiday spending has moved online, retailers have used Cyber Monday as a time to roll out some of their best promotions.

Not deterred by cyber threats

Even people who have had a bad experience with cyber thieves will not be deterred from shopping online, according to a survey by TransUnion. The survey found 76% of shoppers who were victims of a holiday season hack might be fearful of the risks, but 94% said they still plan to shop for Cyber Monday deals.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) projects more than 137 million consumers will shop in one way or the other during the long Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday weekend. No doubt more sales will come online this year than last, driven largely by young people.

“For many millennials, every Thanksgiving weekend they can remember has involved hopping online to find the best deals,” said Prosper Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “For this group, it’s more than just a weekend of good deals, it’s a holiday tradition.”

Coming up at the end of the week is the official kickoff to the 2016 holiday shopping season. But chances are consumers have already done some of their sho...

Article Image

This year, Amazon introduces 'voice shopping'

With Black Friday just a week away, retailers are beginning to add to the build-up. After rolling out a number of pre-Black Friday deals, Amazon is introducing bargains that are only available if you order on it's voice interactive technology, Alexa.

Today through Monday, consumers who ask “Alexa, what are your deals?” will get access to an exclusive set of discounts on popular gift items. Consumers may order with voice commands on Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire HD tablet, or Amazon Fire TV.

“This is the first holiday that Prime members will be able to use their voice to shop and we’re excited to offer exclusive deals they won’t find anywhere else,” said Assaf Ronen, Amazon's vice-president for Voice Shopping. “Voice shopping with Alexa takes the hassle out of the holidays, giving customers the ability to order from millions of items simply by saying the word.”

New deals each day

Ronen says the voice-only deals will be updated each day during the promotion.

Amazon says the Alexa-only deals will include $80 off a 32-inch Samsung 1080p LED TV; $30 off on a Sphero Star Wars BB-8 App controlled robot; $80 off on Beyerdynamic Limited Edition headphones; and $130 off on a 10-piece All-Clad stainless steel cookware set.

Similar to Apple's Siri, Alexa is the voice service that powers Echo, providing capabilities that allow users to interact with devices in a more intuitive way using voice commands.

While consumers no doubt will take part in Black Friday sales in great numbers this year, the numbers may continue to diminish as more sales move online and retailers spread their bargains over a wider timeframe.

Black Friday shopping tips

Whenever consumers do their shopping, Ash Exantus, Financial Empowerment Coach at BankMobile, suggests shoppers make a list and holiday budget to avoid overspending. He also suggests leaving your plastic at home and using cash instead. He says that will ensure you stick to your budget and avoid getting caught up in Black Friday's emotional appeal.

“Shopping, especially on Black Friday, is psychological warfare,” Exantus said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “You are literally in a battle between you and your pockets vs. retailers and marketers.”

It's called Black Friday for a reason, Exantus says. It's the day when retailers get into the black for the year, often at consumers' expense.

With Black Friday just a week away, retailers are beginning to add to the build-up. After rolling out a number of pre-Black Friday deals, Amazon is introdu...

Article Image

Amazon says its offering '35 days of deals'

Increasingly, consumers are able to find attractive deals on holiday gift items without fighting the crowds on Black Friday

Then again, the way things are going, the stores might not be all that crowded on the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

Amazon says it isn't waiting any longer. Starting Friday, and for the next 35 days, it says it will offer “Black Friday prices” as often as every five minutes, with deals heating up on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Amazon is even launching a special app that can be downloaded for free to track the deals.

And customers with an iPhone can use something called Package X-Ray to see what is inside a box without opening it.

“Customers want to shop anywhere, any time, and any way, especially during the five super popular days for online shopping running from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday,” said Steve Shure, Vice President, Amazon.

Some of the deals

Among the daily deals, Amazon says it will mark down select Disney toys and apparel by 60%; Barbi, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price toys will be half off.

In Electronics, it will offer a Samsung 32 inch 720p HDTV for $69.99; Sennheiser HD 598 Cs Closed Back Headphones for $99.95; and a 60-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $599.

Among Amazon's own devices, the Amazon Echo will sell for a $40 discount; the Kindle For Kids bundle will go for $69.99; and the Amazon Fire TV will be on sale for $74.99.

In an email to ConsumerAffairs, a spokeswoman for Amazon says the company has observed that customers are shopping on mobile devices at record-levels. She says mobile use should easily exceed last season's 70% rate.

Meanwhile, a new report from Vivint Smart Home, which surveyed 2,000 consumers, found there is widespread concern about “porch pirates” swiping package deliveries, but most consumers have been slow to take action to improve security.

Millennials expressed the most concern and appear to be the most vigilant generation when it comes to package theft. The report found nearly 40% of Millennials have had success in recovering stolen packages.

Increasingly, consumers are able to find attractive deals on holiday gift items without fighting the crowds on Black FridayThen again, the way things a...

Article Image

Some Black Friday deals may look familiar

With Black Friday just days away, shoppers may get a sense of deja vu as they scan the ad slicks for bargains. They may see some of the same deals they saw last year.

Holiday shopping site BestBlackFriday.com analyzed every advertised deal from 25 stores, checking this year's ad against last year's. It found lots of re-runs.

“It is no big deal when stores are repeating a general 50% off all clothing deal, but it is concerning when stores are offering last year's electronics for more money,” said Best Black Friday principal Phil Dengler.

The analysis shows nearly all – 24 out of 25 stores – are repeating at least one deal from last year. Best Black Friday found three repeated deals at 22 stores and five repeated deals at 20 stores. More than half the stores had at least one repeated sales item they were charging more for this year.

Dengler says re-running a Black Friday deal from last year is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's something consumers should know about.

Imports are up

Meanwhile, retailers appear to be restocking their holiday shelves this year with more imported items. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reports imports at the nation’s major retail container ports should rise 4.4% this month, with a slightly bigger increase expected next month.

“Most of the holiday merchandise is already here, but retailers are still restocking to be sure shoppers will have a broad and deep selection as they hit the stores over the next several weeks,” said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold.

Economists often watch retail imports for clues about the direction of the economy. Gold says the rise in end of the year imports suggests retailers expect to sell more this year than last year.

Private label credit cards

Consumers may be paying for their holiday purchases with more private label credit cards. A report from TransUnion shows the number of these accounts usually surges during December.

Consumers are getting increased access to retail cards during the holidays, mainly because stores offer discounts and other incentives for opening account while making a purchase. As we recently reported, consumers should use caution and carefully weigh any benefits before accepting these offers.

With Black Friday just days away, shoppers may get a sense of deja vu as they scan the ad slicks for bargains. They may see some of the same deals they saw...

Article Image

Black Friday sales begin today for Walmart

For an event whose name suggests a one-day connection, Black Friday seems to start earlier and last longer every year. Retailers are eager to move product and rake in consumer dollars, and now one company has officially kicked off its Black Friday sales.

Walmart shoppers who use the company’s app can start indulging in sales today on a variety of items, including electronic devices like an Acer laptop and a 65-inch Hitachi 4K Ultra HDTV. The deals will continue all the way through the actual Black Friday event on November 25, and may even last longer into the holiday shopping season.

Starting up its sales early could be viewed by some to be a risky move; recent reports indicate that consumers have become guarded when it comes to Black Friday, with many saying that they’ll be avoiding the hassle by doing more shopping online.

Consumers who do choose to shop in stores say that they’re often disappointed by hyped up deals that fall short of expectations because product inventory runs out so fast. However, Walmart says that won’t be a problem this year. The company says that it is stocking up on 1.5 million TV’s, 2 million tablets and computers, and 3 million video games that will be purchasable online and at stores.

“I don’t expect to see any kind of decline [on] Black Friday. . . traffic continues to grow in the stores while we continue to grow our online business,” said Walmart’s chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies.

For an event whose name suggests a one-day connection, Black Friday seems to start earlier and last longer every year. Retailers are eager to move product...

Article Image

Here's a sneak peek at Black Friday ad slicks

For consumers planning to get up early and hit the stores on Black Friday, here's a way to plan your morning. A shopping website, BestBlackFriday.com has published leaked Black Friday ad slicks from five major retailers, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Sears, and Kmart.

Best Buy

According to the ad for Best Buy, the electronics retailer will open at 5:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and offer a Samsung 55-inch 2160p 4K HD smart TV for $479.99, marked down by $320. A Toshiba 49-inch 2160p set will go for $199.99.

The Dell Inspiron 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop will have a sale price of $349.99, $150 lower than its regular price. The seven-inch, 8GB Kindle Fire has a sale price of $33.33. You can save $125 on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

Walmart

Walmart will open at 6:00 p.m. Thursday. The Walmart ad shows the iPhone 5 on Straight Talk Wireless selling for $99. A Philips 55-inch 4K LED TV has been marked down to $298.

For gamers, the Playstation 4 Slim 500GB bundle is $249, and includes a $30 gift card. The Samsung 4K Blue-ray disc player is $39.

Target

The ad for Target's Black Friday Preview Sale, starting Thanksgiving Day, promotes a Fitbit Charge HR for $89.95, marked down from $129.95.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Target is offering the Jetson V6 hoverboard with Bluetooth speakers for $284.99. In the toy department, the Badgor Basket wooden doll house, with 15-piece furniture set, goes for $69.

Sears

Sears will open at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Its ad touts a Kenmore washer-dryer combo for $279.99 each and a 25.6 cubic inch, two-door stainless steel refrigerator for $999.

The Craftsman 41-inch, 12-drawer ball bearing tool chest is marked down to $349.98. A Serta Posturepedic queen sized mattress and box spring set has been marked down to $349.

Kmart

Kmart will open at 7:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving and its ad shows a Bell & Howell dashcam with 8 GB micro SD card for $15. It's 10-inch Frozen or Spiderman bike, regularly $49.99, has been marked down to $19.

For consumers planning to get up early and hit the stores on Black Friday, here's a way to plan your morning. A shopping website, BestBlackFriday.com has p...

Article Image

Are consumers suffering from Black Friday burnout?

We've heard for years that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and that consumers eagerly look forward to participating. But really? Do people really enjoy standing in line outside a Walmart at 4:00 a.m.?

Our friends at BestBlackFriday.com have stumbled across the painful truth. A survey conducted for the site by SurveyMonkey found a sizable number of consumers actually claim to hate Black Friday.

According to the results, fewer than 15% of those questioned actually “love” the official kick-off to the holiday shopping season. A little over 35% profess to hate it. About half of those in the survey describe Black Friday as “just okay.”

A young person's game

Other takeaways from the survey – younger shoppers tend to “love” Black Friday more than older people. There is a huge drop in affection after Americans turn 30. Consumers who say they hate Thanksgiving openings also hate Black Friday.

Is it possible consumers are just burned out on Black Friday hype? Phil Dengle, a principal at BestBlackFriday, says that's a logical explanation. Also, he says consumers no longer have to get up early and fight the crowds in order to get a good buy.

“The numerous pre-Black Friday and early November sales are absolutely turning shoppers off to the actual day of Black Friday.,” Dengler said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.

As of November 7, Dengler notes that Amazon had already opened its "Black Friday Store," and retailers like Walmart have been showcasing Early Bird Online Specials.

“Actual Black Friday doorbusters will start on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving this year, so everything is much more spread out,” he said. “Overall, prices are still going to be better on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, but it is still more than possible to find great deals in the weeks leading up.”

More online shopping

And the week after too. Research has shown year after year that overall, the best deals aren't found on Black Friday but in early December. And more and more sales are being conducted online. The significant drop in the number of major retailers open this Thanksgiving probably has less to do with perceived public backlash than with the fact shoppers can still buy things from the comfort of their living rooms between dinner and football.

Plus, Dengler says there are now so many deals, before and after Black Friday, consumers are not obsessed with getting the absolute lowest price.

“Many shoppers just do not want to go through with the hassle and stress of shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, so they are sacrificing a few dollars to get it on their own terms,” he said.

Finally, the survey suggests this Black Friday might find the stores not so crowded. Forty percent said they didn't plan to shop at all the day after Thanksgiving and 28% said they would limit their shopping to online.

We've heard for years that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and that consumers eagerly look forward to participating. But really? Do pe...

Article Image

Retailers already rolling out holiday shopping deals

As they did last year, retailers are getting an early start on Black Friday deals, rolling them out early to snag consumers' dollars before some other store does.

Amazon has opened up what it calls its Black Friday Store, with sale items every day in advance of the official start to the holiday shopping season. In fact, Amazon is promising to put up new deals periodically every day until December 22.

At the same time, the online retail giant has launched several curated Holiday Gift Guides. The company predicts OLED, HDR, and 4K TVs will be big draws in electronics, along with Alexa-enabled home security cameras, VR/360-degree cameras, instant film cameras, and drone photography.

Other predicted hot items include Twitch streaming and in-home music studio equipment, along with VR and AR gaming products.

Shopping with Alexa

"This holiday season, we're offering more deals than ever before and - for the first time ever - giving Prime members an opportunity to use Alexa voice shopping for purchasing their holiday gifts hands-free,” said Doug Herrington, Senior Vice President of North American Retail at Amazon. “They can make purchases simply by asking Alexa-enabled devices, like the new Echo Dot, while relaxing at home with family and friends."

Walmart is also getting an early start, offering up daily holiday gift deals on its website. There are featured deals each day from a number of different departments, including electronics, apparel, toys, and appliances.

Sam's Club, meanwhile, has introduced its “Instant Savings Book,” promising instant deals across all departments. The company says all the potential savings add up to $5,000.

Of course, Black Friday itself is coming up fast. BestBlackFriday.com has published what it says are leaked Black Friday ad slicks from Sam's Club, Dell, Walmart, and Toys R Us. Deals include a Dell laptop for $99.99.

As they did last year, retailers are getting an early start on Black Friday deals, rolling them out early to snag consumers' dollars before some other stor...

Article Image

Target unveils holiday shopping strategy

Retailers are trying to get a leg-up on competitors in the holiday shopping sweepstakes, especially as spending continues to migrate to the internet. Many retail analysts believe Amazon is poised to capture a bigger slice of the pie, which may motivate competitors to offer even more enticing deals.

Target has taken the wraps off its 2016 holiday strategy, saying it plans to offer new and exclusive inventory in every product category, as well as a wide range of bargains.

“Target is at our very best during the holidays, and we’re building on last year’s winning formula to make the 2016 holiday season even better,” said Target CEO and Chairman Brian Cornell.

Cornell said the strategy is built around helping consumers save both time and money, both in stores and online.

“Most importantly, guests will find truly exceptional value through broad and simple offers timed to maximize savings on the most-shopped merchandise at each point in the season,” he said.

Introducing the Wondershop

New this year is Wondershop, sort of shop within a shop that specializes in Christmas decorations. The company has also developed Wonderlist, which it says is a tool to find gifts for family and friends.

For children, Target says it will feature about 1,000 new items from the recently introduced Cat & Jack line, with price tags under $30. There will be more than 1,800 new or exclusive toys, an increase of about 15% over 2015.

Preparing for a burst in virtual reality popularity, Target says it will feature newly released VR products, including PlayStation VR and VR One Plus.

Frowning on Thanksgiving openings

Target is among the major retailers that have not yet announced plans for Thanksgiving Day. While a large number of stores plan to remain closed the day before Black Friday, Target is among the retailers expected to try to get a jump on holiday spending.

Shopping site BestBlackFriday.com is out with a survey of consumers that shows an overwhelming number prefer stores to close Thanksgiving Day and give employees the holiday off. Its survey shows only 8.18% of consumers “strongly favor” a store being open Thanksgiving Day, while 37.72% “strongly dislike” the idea.

“The vast majority of the population does not view the practice of stores dragging their employees and shoppers out of their homes on Turkey Day in a positive light,” the authors write.

Even so, the site suggests plenty of consumers will shop on Thanksgiving, most likely ordering things online rather than going to stores.

Retailers are trying to get a leg-up on competitors in the holiday shopping sweepstakes, especially as spending continues to migrate to the internet. Many...

Article Image

Mall of America acts to preserve the sanctity of Black Friday

Thanksgiving is perhaps the biggest American holiday. It originated on these shores and remains unique to the U.S. The Mall of America is America's biggest shopping mall and in recent years, the two have co-existed, with shoppers jumping up from the dinner table to start their holiday shopping.

But not this year. The giant Minnesota mall announced today that it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day for the first time ever. The mall's 520 stores can open if they want to but few are expected to do so.

Mall management says it simply wants to give employees a day off and get the holiday shopping emphasis where it belongs -- on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

“We’ve been talking about this for months, looking at the numbers, looking at the pros and the cons,” said Jill Renslow, the mall’s senior vice president of marketing and business development, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “We’re excited to give this day back to our employees so they can celebrate with their families.”

"Special magic"

Renslow also hopes the move will "bring that special magic back to Black Friday" and noted that the mall will throw open its doors at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, welcoming shoppers perhaps still somewhat besotted with family, food, and friends.

Critics have warned that Thanksgiving has been in danger of becoming little more than an elaborate luncheon that kicks off Black Friday, as stores great and small began opening for at least part of the traditional holiday in recent years.

For their part, retailers have complained that the extra hours have not generated appreciably more revenue but have simply spread it out over a greater time period while increasing labor, utility, and advertising expense.

That apparently mirrors Renslow's thinking. 

“By closing on Thanksgiving, we’re confident we’ll still get those strong numbers throughout the Black Friday weekend.” she said, according to the Start-Tribune.

Thanksgiving is perhaps the biggest American holiday. It originated on these shores and remains unique to the U.S. The Mall of America is America's biggest...

Article Image

Here's what to expect for Black Friday shopping

Black Friday 2016 is still a little more than two months away, but already there are predictions about what shoppers can expect.

BestBlackFriday.com has posted its predictions after analyzing 150 Black Friday ads from 2015, saying deals on electronics will be among the most appealing. For example, it predicts 50-inch HDTV sets will be available from multiple sources for as low as $175. A 50-inch 4K set, it predicts, could go for as little as $300.

Philip Dengler, a principal at Jones-Denger Marketing, which operates the site, says the biggest change this year may be the fact that more of the best deals will be available online.

“While it has been trending in that direction for the past few years, we saw more online doorbusters than ever last year,” Jones said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “This means many of the first page televisions, laptops, and tablets will be available for online shoppers. Previously, they were only available in-store at very limited quantities.”

Spending rapidly shifting online

Dengler also predicts Black Friday spending is rapidly shifting online and this year, he says the shift should be dramatic. Combined Thanksgiving and Black Friday spending is projected to be around $10.78 billion, down around 10% from last year.

But BestBlackFriday.com projects online sales on Black Friday will be up over 13% from last year and Thanksgiving online sales should rise nearly 20%. Combined, they are expected to account for around half of all sales.

“The Black Friday shopping period is also rapidly extending,” Dengler said. “We expect Amazon to open its Black Friday Store on November 1. Many other retailers will offer pre-Black Friday sales throughout the entire month of November. Actual Thanksgiving doorbusters should begin online on Wednesday night.”

Deals

He says laptops should start at $90, with the average doorbuster laptop price at around $150. The iPhone 7 should be available for $99 with a two-year contract. While two-year contracts are being phased out, Dengler says many people will still be eligible if they have Verizon or Sprint. People that aren't will have to pay unsubsidized prices.

As for individual retailers, Dengler predicts JCPenney and Kohl's will have the highest average discount for their promotions, at around around 65% off. Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon will once again be towards the bottom of the range, with average store discounts of around 30%.

If toys are on your holiday list, Denger suggests waiting until the second week of December for the best prices.

Black Friday 2016 is still a little more than two months away, but already there are predictions about what shoppers can expect.BestBlackFriday.com has...

Article Image

Consumers disappoint retailers on Black Friday

Despite the hype and doorbuster bargains, consumers were less inclined to jam into malls on Black Friday, according to a preliminary sales tally. They were also less likely to shop online.

ShopperTrak, a consumer analytics firm, estimates consumers spent $12.1 billion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. If those numbers hold up, it would be less than was spent over those two days last year.

Specifically, Thanksgiving Day accounted for an estimated $1.8 billion in sales, while Black Friday brought in an estimated $10.4 billion.

Early sales take a toll

Is this a sign of an impending recession, or simply a case of early sales? Kevin Kearns, ShopperTrak chief revenue officer, says it's probably the latter, with retailers cannibalizing the big shopping day with early sales.

“This year, we saw Black Friday ads emerge before Halloween, as retailers aimed to get at the shopper’s wallet early,” he said.

Kearns says evidence suggests these early promotions generated sales prior to the Black Friday weekend. Money that was spent on Black Friday last year may have been spent during the previous two weeks this year.

Reinforcing a trend

“Fewer visits on both days reinforce the trend we’ve seen throughout the year, in which shoppers are researching products ahead of time, targeting their store visits, and arriving in-store with the intention of making a purchase,” Kearns said. “The decrease in shopper visits on Thanksgiving Day also lends itself to the social backlash against store openings on the holiday.”

Meanwhile, BestBlackFriday.com projects Cyber Monday spending will be strong, approaching $2.25 billion. But Phil Dengler, a principal at the website, says it too is losing its ability to attract attention.

Declining importance of Cyber Monday

“Honestly, Black Friday and Thanksgiving had so many more doorbusters online this year than ever before, so Cyber Monday is really not necessary anymore,” Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. “Regardless, we will still continue to cover it as long as stores have sales. In the end though, we say retire it.”

Dengler says Best Buy stands out this year as the retailer with the best deals. He cites the company's extensive Cyber Monday ad, praising its diverse selection.

As an example, he cites a $300 Best Buy gift card when you trade in a working smartphone and lease or activate a Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ or a Note 5.  

Despite the hype and doorbuster bargains, consumers were less inclined to jam into malls on Black Friday, according to a preliminary sales tally. They were...

Article Image

Black Friday shoppers beware: thievery is pretty prominent on this retail "holiday"

Everyone is being swept up by the Black Friday craze this year; stores like Target and Walmart are boasting of strong sales numbers as we head into the weekend. While the huge discounts and masses of people are hallmarks of this retail “holiday”, thievery is something that it has become infamous for in recent years as well. Consumers should stay vigilant when it comes to keeping themselves and their newly acquired items safe.

In a report from Fortune.com, insurance company Travelers said that thefts are, on average, 2% higher on Black Friday than any other day of the year, and for good reason. Many consumers will be storing bought items in their vehicles and jumping back into the fray to see what other deals they can find; this is optimal for thieves who will be prowling parking lots in search of valuables.

Consumers are not safe when they leave the mall though. When Travelers broke down all claims made on Black Friday, they found that thefts were 28% higher than any other day of the year when they included ones made off-premise (not at the mall or retail store). “On Black Friday, thieves are just much more focused on the opportunity than on a regular basis,” said Patrick Gee, senior vice president at Travelers.

Take away the opportunity to steal

Thieves are not too picky about which items they can get their hands on, but statistics show that there are some trends associated with items stolen. On average, clothing and apparel are 40% more likely to be stolen than other items and toys are three times more likely to be stolen. Despite the huge surge in sales on Black Friday, electronic items are no more likely to be stolen on this day than any other day of the year.

Consumers can take several different steps to make sure that their goods are safe while they shop. If you insist on keeping items in your car while you go back to shop, make sure everything is covered or out of sight when they're in your car; thieves who see an item they want will be much more likely to take it if given the opportunity.

Taking away the opportunity to steal is probably your best bet, though. After checking out, bring your items straight home so that they're safe. You can also remove yourself from the equation altogether by hunting for deals online.

Everyone is being swept up by the Black Friday craze this year; stores like Target and Walmart are boasting of strong sales numbers as we head into the wee...

Article Image

Retailers open on Thanksgiving report strong sales

Adele's new album release helped Target get off to a successful start to the shopping season, with most consumers turning to Target.com to make their Thanksgiving Day purchases, which included heavy sales of “25.”

Company executives say the stores had good traffic as well, benefiting from on-going promotions.

“On Thanksgiving, we saw millions of shoppers take advantage of great offers online and in our stores. Overall, the response from our guests has been very positive, with some of the best days we’ve seen on Target.com,” said Brian Cornell, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Target.

Big sellers

Target says sales were strong, with the Apple Watch and Apple iPads, Beats Solo 2 headphones, FitBit Charge HR, and the Philips Sonicare 2 electric toothbrush leading the way.

Demand was greater than last year’s record Thanksgiving performance, giving Target its biggest day for online sales yet, driven largely by electronics. According to Target:

  • Apple iPads were top sellers in stores and online. On average, Target sold an iPad every second throughout the day on Thanksgiving. Apple Watch was especially popular in stores.
  • Gaming consoles were popular in stores and online, including the Nintendo Wii U, which was the top selling item on Target.com.
  • TVs were one of most sought after items in stores— the 55” Westinghouse at $249.99 was Target’s top selling TV.
  • Movies were a big hit in stores with guests buying more than 3 million on Thanksgiving.
  • A three-foot stuffed teddy bear, priced at $10, was a surprise hit, with some stores selling out in minutes.
  • Top toys included LEGO, Barbie, Disney Princess, and Star Wars. Target exclusives generated nearly one-third of Star Wars toy sales for the day.
  • Beats Solo 2 headphones were one of the top sellers on Target.com and in stores at $96.99 (reg. $199.99).

Good day for Walmart.com

Walmart also said it had strong Thanksgiving Day sales, and like Target, attributed much of it to online purchases.

“We’ve said this Black Friday would be the most integrated between Walmart stores and Walmart.com – and we delivered,” said Steve Bratspies, Walmart's chief merchandising officer. “Tens of millions of customers visited our digital and physical aisles to pick up video games and systems, televisions, movies and toys, many of the top items sold both on Walmart.com and in stores. And, they prepped beforehand - more than 25 million customers accessed store maps and the circular through our online and mobile tools for Black Friday.”

These early results appear to confirm predictions that consumers will continue to increasingly use online channels to do their holiday shopping. That trend is expected to continue through the weekend as all types of retailers gear up for Cyber Monday.

Adele's new album release helped Target get off to a successful start to the shopping season, with most consumers turning to Target.com to make their Thank...

Article Image

Emphasis already shifting to Cyber Monday

Make no mistake, there will be plenty of consumers jamming stores to take advantage of Black Friday deals. But the emphasis has already shifted to Cyber Monday and beyond, as retailers jockey for position to sell gifts between now and Christmas Day.

Amazon.com has extended its holiday promotions with new deals that start on Saturday and run through Monday.

While Black Friday may be bigger for brick-and-mortar stores, an Internet-only retailer like Amazon makes the most of Cyber Monday. Last year, Amazon sold more than 43 million items worldwide, which was a record-breaking 500 items per second.

Some of last year's big sellers were the Samsung 40” Smart LED TV, GoPro HERO4, Disney Frozen Elsa Doll, Anki DRIVE Smart Robot Car Racing Game, LORAC PRO Palette, and Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler.

This year's deals

This year's Cyber Monday deals will include the Amazon Fire for $34.99; the LG Electronics 60” 1080p TV, less than $700; $10 off $50 orders of select Black & Decker and STANLEY tools; up to 45% off on select Wilton bakeware; up to 50% off on select Coleman gear; and 65% off select cashmere for women.

Amazon Prime members get unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 20 million items and unlimited free same-day delivery on more than a million items in 16 metro areas.

But if you aren't a Prime member, you'll need to read shipping details carefully. Amazon offers free shipping on eligible orders of $35 or more.

Early start for Walmart

Meanwhile, Walmart says it's moving up its Cyber Monday schedule to 8 p.m. Sunday night to provide a simpler and more convenient experience for customers. Walmart said it noticed in past years that consumers were searching online for bargains on Sunday evening, then waiting up until midnight to place their orders.

“It can be exhausting for working parents and millenials to stay up past midnight to shop online, only to wake up early the next day to get ready for work,” said Fernando Madeira, President and CEO, Walmart.com. “By starting Cyber Monday hours earlier on Sunday evening and quadrupling the number of Cyber Monday specials, we’re making it easier for customers to get ahead of the busiest online shopping day of the year and save on the best gifts.”

Cyber Monday bargains

Walmart says some of the deals include $500 off an LG 65-inch HDTV and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for $599, a savings of $200. Both items will be available with free shipping.

Other Cyber Monday deals include:

  • Air Hogs Star Wars Remote Control X-34 Landspeeder – $19, plus free shipping to store
  • 14-ft. Trampoline with Enclosure – $189, plus free shipping
  • Porter Cable 3-Tool Combo Kit – $79, plus free shipping
  • Air Hogs Video Drone – $75, plus free shipping

Make no mistake, there will be plenty of consumers jamming stores to take advantage of Black Friday deals. But the emphasis has already shifted to Cyber Mo...

Article Image

Sharks more deadly than Black Friday, but it's close

Anytime crowds head to stores in record number, anything can happen. Black Friday has its share of mayhem and mishaps.

The website SheBudgets.com has collected a number of interesting facts about the busiest shopping day of the year, and among them – you almost have as much chance of being killed at a Black Friday event as being fatally attacked by a shark.

In the last five years, the site says, Black Friday has been blamed for seven deaths and 98 injuries. Sharks, on the other hand, kill five and injure 100 people a year. While sharks kill more people, those attacks occur over 365 days – Black Friday is just one day.

Origin of the name

How did Black Friday get its name? It has always been accepted fact that the name derives from the fact that most retailers reach the breakeven point by Thanksgiving. After that, everything they make is profit.

Not so, says SheBudgets. The site claims Philadelphia Police came up with the name in the 1950s because of the horrendous traffic caused by all the shoppers flocking to stores.

A lot of celebration goes on around Thanksgiving, and it apparently continues into Black Friday. The shopping site RetailMeNot claims 12% of Black Friday shoppers show up drunk. Come to think of it, that could explain a lot of the mayhem and mishaps.

Quality issues

SheBudgets makes an interesting claim when it says stores tend to roll out low quality items to entice shoppers. That might have been the case in the past but may not be now.

Still, we reported several years ago that consumers who purchased flat screen TVs on Black Friday seemed to have a lot of problems with them.

Finally, Black Friday is not only the busiest day of the year for retailers, it's also the busiest day for plumbers. Most likely it has something to do with the clean-up from the Thanksgiving feast. Too many food scraps down the drain, maybe?

SheBudgets also notes that 79% of Americans will do at least some of their Black Friday weekend shopping online, certainly easier and safer. Still, millions will hit the mall.

So stay sober, and stay safe.

Anytime crowds head to stores in record number, anything can happen. Black Friday has its share of mayhem and mishaps.The website SheBudgets.com has co...

Article Image

Twenty hot Black Friday deals on electronics

Electronic gadgets make up a big chunk of the average Christmas shopping list. Whether it's a new smartphone or a big screen TV, consumers seem to like gifts that they plug in.

The editors at Best Black Friday, who have worked with us in the run-up to the holiday season to identify some of the best buys, have submitted their picks for the best deals on electronics.

If an HDTV happens to be on your list, you are likely to find record low prices for select models and sizes, as well as video game bundles.

“While stores such as Walmart have taken steps back in certain areas, their overall sale is strong once again,” the website reports. “After waiting every other retailer out, Amazon finally gave us a preview of their upcoming sale, and while it is vague, a few of their items have made our Top 20 list.”

The list breaks down into these categories:

HDTVs

  • Toshiba 49" 1080p LED HDTV for $149.99 at Best Buy
  • 50" 1080p LED TV for $149.99 at Amazon
  • 32" LED TV for $75 at Amazon
  • TCL Roku 32″ 720p LED Smart HDTV for $125 at Walmart and Amazon
  • TCL Roku 55″ 1080p Smart LED HDTV for $348 at Walmart and Amazon
  • Samsung 60″ 1080p LED Smart HDTV for $697.99 at Target and Best Buy
  • Samsung 40″ 1080p LED Smart HDTV + $90 Kohl’s Cash for $319.99 at Kohl’s
  • Samsung 40" inch HDTV + Xbox One Bundle for $499.98 at Best Buy

Tablets

  • iPad Air 2 (64GB and 128GB) for $150 Off at Sam’s Club
  • iPad Mini 4 64GB and 128GB (Best Buy) and 16GB (Staples) for $100 Off
  • iPad Air 2 16GB for $359.99 at eBay

Video Games

  • Xbox One Gears of War Bundle + Fallout 4 & Extra Controller for $299.99 at Dell
  • Xbox One and PS4 Bundles for $299.99 + $75 Kohl’s Cash at Kohl’s
  • Xbox One Bundle + Samsung 40-inch HDTV for $499.98 at Best Buy

Smartphones

  • iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus – $250 Gift Card for Unsubsidized Purchases and $50 Off for 2-Year Subsidized Plans at Target
  • $250 Savings on any Samsung smartphone ($150 savings + $100 Black Friday Gift Card) at Walmart

Computers

  • 13.3″ MacBook Pro or 21.5″ iMac for $899.99 at Best Buy
  • Toshiba Satellite CL45 14″ Laptop for $119.99 at Office Depot and OfficeMax
  • Bonus Deal! – ASUS 15″ Laptop for $129 at Amazon

Other Electronics

  • Save Up To $100 On Apple Watches at Best Buy
  • Beats Studio Headphones for $169 at Walmart
  • Canon EOS Rebel T5 digital SLR camera 18-55mm lens and 75-300mm lens with a bag for $399.99 at Kohl’s

While buying a non-sale item on Black Friday will cost you, the BestBlackFriday.com editors say missing a Black Friday doorbuster exacts a price as well.

Last year the site followed the prices for hundreds of the top Black Friday electronics for a few months into April to see how much their prices went up. It found the average doorbuster electronic price goes up by $48.43 after Black Friday. HDTVs increase by $63.79, and video game consoles increase by $50.85.

Electronic gadgets make up a big chunk of the average Christmas shopping list. Whether it's a new smartphone or a big screen TV, consumers seem to like gif...

Article Image

At Walmart, Cyber Monday will start Sunday night

In the huge hoopla over Black Friday, and which stores will and won't be open on Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday has sort of been overlooked. After all, it almost seems a relic of a bygone era.

In the old days – 10 or 12 years ago – Cyber Monday was a pretty big deal. After Black Friday was in the books, consumers would return to work on Monday and take advantage of the boss's broadband Internet to order gifts online.

Consumers waited until Monday because, by and large, they didn't have access to high-speed Internet at home. Now that just about everyone is on broadband, they aren't waiting until Monday to order things.

8 p.m. start time

Even so, Walmart is calling attention to Cyber Monday by doing to it what it did to Black Friday a few years back – start it early. The retailer says it will make all of its Cyber Monday deals available starting at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

The company says it's moving up the schedule to provide a simpler and more convenient experience for customers who are searching the Web on Sunday night and often waiting up past midnight to do their shopping. Now, they say, everyone can get a good night's sleep. 

“It can be exhausting for working parents and millenials to stay up past midnight to shop online, only to wake up early the next day to get ready for work,” said Fernando Madeira, President and CEO, Walmart.com. “By starting Cyber Monday hours earlier on Sunday evening and quadrupling the number of Cyber Monday specials, we’re making it easier for customers to get ahead of the busiest online shopping day of the year and save on the best gifts.”

Cyber Monday bargains

Walmart says some of the deals include $500 off an LG 65-inch HDTV and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for $599, a savings of $200. Both items will be available with free shipping.

Other Cyber Monday deals include:

  • Air Hogs Star Wars Remote Control X-34 Landspeeder – $19, plus free shipping to store
  • 14-ft. Trampoline with Enclosure – $189, plus free shipping
  • Porter Cable 3-Tool Combo Kit – $79, plus free shipping
  • Air Hogs Video Drone – $75, plus free shipping

In the huge hoopla over Black Friday, and which stores will and won't be open on Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday has sort of been overlooked. After all, it almo...

Article Image

Five things shoppers should know before Black Friday

This week is a make-or-break time for the nation's retailers. All are hoping to draw consumers to their Black Friday deals, at a time when consumers appear to be in the diver's seat, with an increasing array of options.

The deals started weeks ago, both in stores and online, though retailers will likely save their best doorbusters for the big day itself.

The National Retail Federation's (NRF) Thanksgiving Weekend Survey estimates as many as 135.8 million consumers may shop on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and/or Sunday. That's in line with last year's results.

“The importance of Thanksgiving weekend to both retailers and consumers will never change,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “However, retailers have already given consumers several good reasons to start their holiday shopping earlier.

Before getting out your credit card, here are five things weekend shoppers should know.

The deals will be staggered

Shoppers looking for the best bargains this week will need to stay alert all the way to Cyber Monday. The NRF says it expects retailers will offer exclusive savings each day of the promotional weekend.

In years past, Black Friday was largely confined to one day, and at big box retailers it was over very quickly. That produced a lot of complaints from consumers who lined up in the middle of the night, only to find the item that drew them to the store was sold out in the first few minutes.

Retailers responded by staggering their promotions, giving more consumers a chance. And as important as Black Friday weekend is to retailers, that's not the only weekend in which you'll find bargains.

“It’s important to remember, there will be several important weekends to keep an eye on before we wrap up the holiday season,” Shay said.

Not everything is marked down on Black Friday

There's no question that many items will be marked down to bargain levels on Black Friday, but remember that not everything will be. In fact, a study conducted in 2012 found that some non-sale items were downright expensive on Black Friday.

The study, by Shop Advisor, tracked the prices of 252 toys from the first day of Autumn and found that in the 54 days from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, the day with the lowest percentage -- 46 percent -- of products on sale below their initial holiday season price was Black Friday.

As a matter of fact, Black Friday turned out to be the day on which shoppers begin to see prices spike on select items. On Black Friday itself, 24% of the toys on Shop Advisor's list were priced above their initial holiday season price. The company's survey last year pretty much confirmed that trend remains intact.

More doorbusters are available online

Each year more consumers do more of their holiday shopping online, and retailers have taken notice. As a result, it might not be necessary to get up at dawn or brave the mob at the mall to get a bargain.

This year Amazon.com has been particularly aggressive rolling out its Black Friday deals. It's rolling out new Black Friday deals each day throughout the week.

Brick and mortar retailers are also making some of their best bargains available on their websites. Sam's Club has most of its top doorbuster electronics available online with free shipping, including the PS4 Uncharted Bundle, Xbox Gears of War Bundle, a Vizio 58-inch HDTV, the iPad Air 2, and many other popular items.

Dell has all of its deals online, and the prices are the same as, if not better, than stores that are selling their products in traditional brick and mortar locations.

Free shipping is really important

Buying online is extremely convenient, but if you have to pay for shipping, that can erode any savings you might have realized. So when shopping at an online retailer, check out the shipping charge policy.

An increasing number of retailers now provide free shipping, at least during the holiday period. But make sure you read the fine print. It's likely there is a minimum purchase amount required in order to get that perk.

For the best savings, find online stores with no minimum purchase requirement and, as a bonus, will pay for shipping on any returns.

Patience pays off

If none of this weekend's bargains catch your eye, you shouldn't settle. There will be more bargains to come.

With a less-than-robust economy, retailers will be under pressure to move merchandise. By the middle of December, we could see an all-out price war.

Last year, Shop Advisor found the best day to snag a bargain was not Black Friday, but December 18.

This week is a make-or-break time for the nation's retailers. All are hoping to draw consumers to their Black Friday deals, at a time when consumers appear...

Article Image

How to get top Black Friday deals without the crowds

Each year it seems less necessary to battle the crowds in order to snag a deal on Black Friday. And data suggests consumers are growing a little weary of the annual in-store mayhem.

A survey by Ibotta, a retail cash-back app, found that 65% of consumers believe Black Friday is not as important as it once was. Nearly half said they expect the best deals to appear after Black Friday and others expect to do most of their shopping online.

It's a fact that more and more holiday shopping is done from a PC or smartphone. But will you miss any spectacular deals if you decided to do all of your Black Friday shopping online?

Where the deals are the same

Phil Dengler, principal at BestBlackFriday.com, spends a lot of time comparing and cataloging Black Friday deals. Each year he sees continued movement toward parity between online and brick-and-mortar bargains.

We asked him if there are places where we can get the same in-store deals without leaving the house.

Sam's Club has pretty much all of its top doorbuster electronics available online with free shipping, including the PS4 Uncharted Bundle, Xbox Gears of War Bundle, a Vizio 58-inch HDTV, the iPad Air 2 and many other popular items,” Dengler told ConsumerAffairs.

As you might expect, he says Dell has all of its deals online, and the prices are the same as, if not better, than stores that are selling their products in traditional brick and mortar locations.

“For example, Dell's Xbox One bundle is available online only and is actually the best overall Xbox One deal in our opinion,” Dengler said. “They also have a variety of laptops and HDTVs at comparable prices to most other stores.”

Amazon and eBay – two online only stores – also will compete with in-store deals. Dengler says Amazon has the best overall price for the highly popular 32-inch HDTV. eBay has a great deal on the 16GB iPad Air 2 that is comparable to any in-store offer.

Where you'll have to brave the crowds

Where, then, will you have to brave the crowds to get the best deals? Dengler says Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Kohl's are still only selling some of their very top items in-stores.

“If you shop only online, you will miss out on those particular deals, but you should be able to make up the difference when it's all said and done,” he said.

And what you might lose in savings, you might gain in sanity. Research from SOASTA finds 73% of U.S. consumers who do any online holiday shopping credit online and mobile shopping with helping to keep their holiday spirit intact and prevent them from feeling jaded and frustrated this holiday season.

SOASTA CEO Tom Lounibos says the stakes couldn't be higher this year for online retailers, who he says need to be ready to deliver “flawless” web and mobile performance on Thanksgiving Day and beyond for the expected crush of shoppers who have decided to skip the mall this year.

Each year it seems less necessary to battle the crowds in order to snag a deal on Black Friday. And data suggests consumers are growing a little weary of t...

Article Image

Amazon.com to start holiday deals this weekend

Amazon.com is another retailer that isn't waiting for Black Friday to start its deals. The company says the deals start Friday, November 20 and will run for a solid eight days.

But Amazon isn't rolling out the deals all at once. It plans to add its specials every five minutes through Black Friday. There will be special deals Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, what Amazon calls Deals of the Day – 10 on Thanksgiving Day and 10 on Black Friday.

“Customers can truly sit back and relax with their family and friends this holiday season knowing that they will be notified as soon as the products they’ve had their eye on are about to go on sale. . . Year after year, more and more customers shop for deals on Amazon from the comfort of their own home, and we continue to make that process even more convenient for them,” said Steve Shure, Vice President, Amazon Consumer Marketing. “And with App Only Deals, customers will have plenty of options when it comes to scoring great deals from Amazon.”

Spending migrates online

It's likely that more holiday shopping will move online this year. According to Adobe's shopping forecast, online holiday sales could surge 11%, hitting $83 billion dollars.

With so many people shopping for deals online, Phil Dengler, principal at BestBlackFriday.com, says it's critical for consumers to be aware of shipping terminology, lest savings be eroded by the cost of getting the purchase delivered.

“Buying a cheaper item online from a store that has a free shipping minimum can literally kill all of the savings because of shipping costs,” Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. “In order to simplify that information, we have put together a guide that will make the life of any online Black Friday shopper considerably easier and less stressful.”

Shipping guide

The guide shows that free shipping for holiday sales is fast becoming the norm, but not all retailers will pick up the tab for a small purchase. However, a growing number will, and consumers should look for “no minimum purchase required,” while being aware of spending minimums some retailers may impose.

According to the guide, Amazon requires a $35 minimum purchase for free shipping for non-Prime members. Target and Best Buy, however, have no minimum purchase requirements this holiday season.

While it doesn't really matter for large electronic orders – since the purchase is likely to be $100 or more – free shipping is a huge factor for small orders, especially when the savings aren't particularly large to begin with. It won't pay to save $5 on a $10 item if you end up spending $6.95 to have it delivered.

Amazon.com is another retailer that isn't waiting for Black Friday to start its deals. The company says the deals start Friday, November 20 and will run fo...

Article Image

Holiday shoppers aren't waiting until Black Friday

Black Friday has always been considered the official launch of the holiday shopping season, but there are signs that it's changing.

The National Retail Federation’s Consumer Holiday Spending Survey shows 56.6% of those celebrating the holidays had already started shopping by early November, up from 54.4% last year and 16% from the 49% who had started by this time in 2008.

That's in line with a survey by BestBlackFriday.com, which found as many as 68% of shoppers predicted they would get started on their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.

Sea change

“Thanksgiving weekend shopping has evolved tremendously over the past few years and can no longer be seen as the ‘start’ of the holiday season, though there’s no question it’s still important to millions of holiday shoppers and retailers of all shapes and sizes,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “There is a real sea change happening in retail when it comes to the how, when, where, and why of holiday shopping. Consumers today are looking for great prices and value-add promotions earlier than ever before, and retailers have answered these demands in several different ways already this holiday season.”

Phillip Dengler, a principal at BestBlackFriday.com, says retailers have begun to use the term “Black Friday sale” in pretty much every month of the year to describe even the most basic sales.

“While the term is not completely diluted yet, many shoppers feel as though they can get a great deal before Black Friday even begins,” Dengler told ConsumerAffairs. “For that reason, some people are now avoiding the day completely and finishing their shopping early in order to avoid the headaches that some associate with the Black Friday experience.”

Weak numbers

If consumers have already done some of their holiday shopping in October, that may not bode well for retailers this season. The Commerce Department reports October retail sales were up only slightly during the month, much less than expected. If those sales included some holiday shopping, it might say something about how much – or rather, how little – consumers plan to spend this year.

Despite the early spending on gifts, Dengler believes that the deals centered around Black Friday should draw out plenty of shoppers, both in stores and online.

“More doorbusters than ever will be available online this year, so more people will have the opportunity to shop online on Black Friday as opposed to camping out in front of their local Walmart or Best Buy,” he said. “While Thanksgiving is eating into Black Friday's total sales figures, we still consider it a part of Black Friday since many of the sales will overlap.”

Shay agrees, saying he believes many of the season’s best deals are yet to come, meaning there’s still plenty of shopping to be done over Thanksgiving weekend and in December, when shipping promotions begin to ramp up.  

Black Friday has always been considered the official launch of the holiday shopping season, but there are signs that it's changing.The National Retail...

Article Image

Best Buy, Toys-R-Us announce Black Friday plans

Consumers are beginning to get a better idea of the holiday bargains that will be available, as two more major retailers have revealed Black Friday plans.

Both Best Buy and Toys-R-Us say they will open their doors at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.

“Each year, we carefully evaluate customer feedback and consumer insights to determine how we can best help those customers eager to get a jumpstart on crossing off items on their gift lists,” said Joe Venezia, Senior Vice President, Store Operations, Toys“R”Us, U.S. “We are excited to welcome shoppers into our stores, providing big savings and expert services as the holiday shopping season officially begins.”

The toy retailer stopped short of announcing specific deals but said it will have in-store “specialists” throughout the holiday shopping season to answer questions and make specific gift suggestions.

Best Buy deals

Best Buy, meanwhile, has released its Black Friday ad on its website, detailing several deals it will offer when its doors open on Thanksgiving evening. The deals include:

  • Up to $125 off iPad Air 2
  • $250 Best Buy gift card with any Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge or S6 edge+ smartphone with installment billing purchase or lease and activation
  • Toshiba 55-inch LED TV for $349.99
  • Insignia 40-inch LED TV for $159.99
  • Insignia 2.1 soundbar for $99.99
  • $150 off  on the new 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
  • $150 off on the new 12-inch MacBook with 256GB flash storage in Gold, Silver or Space Gray
  • $100 off on Netgear Arlo wire-free HD security cameras, set of four 

The company says nearly 1,000 Best Buy stores in 47 states will open on Thanksgiving, with most remaining open until 1 a.m. They will then reopen at 8 a.m. Black Friday.

Online deals

With more and more sales moving online, both Toys-R-Us and Best Buy are taking steps to beef up their e-commerce offerings, not waiting for the traditional Cyber Monday event.

Best Buy says almost every item in the Black Friday ad will be available at that price online Thanksgiving Day, with additional deals throughout the weekend. Best Buy is also offering free shipping with no minimum order requirement.

Toys-R-Us says shoppers on its website will get real-time gift guidance through live chats. They can also use the company's gift finder tool to search by child's age and interests.

Consumers are beginning to get a better idea of the holiday bargains that will be available, as two more major retailers have revealed Black Friday plans....

Article Image

Target reveals more Black Friday plans

Many retailers have decided to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, but Target is not one of them.

Target has announced more of its Black Friday plans, which include opening at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

“Black Friday continues to kick off the holiday shopping season for many guests,” said Tina Tyler, Chief Stores Officer, Target. “This year Target will open our doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving for the millions of families who make Black Friday in-store shopping part of their tradition.”

But like a growing number of retailers, Target seems to realize that consumers increasingly prefer to make their purchases online. The company said it is also making its Black Friday deals available on its website.

10 Days of Deals

“In addition, we’re introducing ‘10 Days of Deals’ to offer a wide variety of compelling deals before, during and after Black Friday,” Tyler said.

Target says it isn't waiting for Black Friday to start introducing deals. The retailer will begin its new “10 Days of Deals” promotion, offering daily discounts on electronics, kitchenware, toys, and more from Nov. 22 through Dec. 1. As part of the “10 Days of Deals,” guests will have access to a BlackFriday presale on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

New this year, guests who spend $75 or more on Friday, Nov. 27, will receive a 20% discount to use toward a future purchase on any day between Dec. 4 and Dec. 13.

Promotional deals include:

  • 55” Westinghouse LED TV, $249.99, Reg. $599.99
  • 43” Element LED TV, Special Purchase $169.99
  • Free $150 Target Gift Card when you buy an iPad Air 2
  • Parrot Bebop Drone, $394.99, Reg. $499.99
  • Xbox One Bundle, $299.99 with Gears of War digital game download ($39.99 Value) and a free $60 Target Gift Card, Reg. $349.99
  • Free $100 Target Gift Card with purchase of any Apple Watch
  • Beats Solo 2 Headphones, $96.99, Reg. $199.99
  • Nikon CoolPix L340 digital camera, $99.99, Reg. $229.99
  • GoPro Hero+LCD, $299.99 and a free $60 Target Gift Card and a free 64GB Lexar MicroSD card ($42.99 value)
  • Fitbit Charge HR, $119.00, Reg. $149.99
  • Dyson V6 Motorhead Cordless Vacuum, $249.99, Reg. $399.99
  • 40% off all apparel and accessories for women, men, kids and baby
  • Buy one, get one 50 percent off select toys, including Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends
  • 50% off top holiday home décor, including all frames and jar candles

Employee preferences

In announcing its Black Friday weekend plans, Target took pains to disclose that it consults with employees to “understand scheduling preferences” for the holidays and compensates all hourly team members who work on a national holiday, including Thanksgiving, with pay equal to time-and-a-half of their hourly rate.

The company also says all hourly employees who work certain shifts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday will receive additional compensation on top of holiday premium pay.

Many retailers have decided to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, but Target is not one of them.Target has announced more of its Black Friday plans, wh...

Article Image

It looks like a lot fewer stores will open Thanksgiving Day

More retailers are jumping on the bandwagon of restoring Thanksgiving Day as a time for food, family, and football – not trips to the mall.

Last year, a few large retailers, such as Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club, were closed on the day before Black Friday.

As we reported early last month, Staples announced that it would be closed on Thanksgiving Day, as there appeared to be something of a consumer backlash building against Black Friday intruding into Thanksgiving.

Since then, a lot more retailers have also announced they would be closed on Thanksgiving. BestBlackFriday.com has published what it says is a confirmed list of retailers that have decided it's more profitable to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends.

The retailers include Crate and Barrel, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and T.J. Maxx. REI will not only be closed on Thanksgiving, but Black Friday as well – giving employees the day off with the advice to “spend it outdoors.”

By BestBlackFriday.com's count, at least 45 chains have so far decided to return to the tradition of being closed on Thanksgiving Day. After all, most have busy e-commerce sites, which can continue to take orders between the apple pie and kick-off.

Alienating consumers

Last November, retail marketing expert Arun Jain, a professor at the University at Buffalo (UB), warned that opening on Thanksgiving Day was risky.

“It’s a pity that in the richest country in the world, we cannot reserve even a single day for family, and there is a good chance it could backfire with consumer boycotts,” he said.

A better strategy, says Jain, would be opening early Black Friday morning – the way retailers did in the not-too-distant past – and offer spectacular doorbuster bargains. According to BestBlackFriday.com, it appears a lot of retailers have taken that advice.

More retailers are jumping on the bandwagon of restoring Thanksgiving Day as a time for food, family, and football – not trips to the mall.Last year, a...

Article Image

Amazon launches Black Friday Deals Store

Amazon.com has taken additional steps to gear up for the holiday shopping season, launching a Black Friday Deals Store and unveiling its Electronics Holiday Gift Guide.

The company also says consumers can use its Gift Finder tool to help select gifts, based on the recipient's characteristics and interests.

The Black Friday store offers daily Black Friday deals on a wide range of products. The company says the deals will flow before and after Black Friday, with bargains on thousands of items between now and December 22.

Promoting Prime

Not surprisingly, Amazon is using the promotion to pump up its Prime membership.

“We’re giving Prime members early access to more than 30,000 Lightning Deals and for all customers, tens of thousands of great deals in the Black Friday Deals store,” said Steve Shure, Vice President Amazon Consumer Marketing. “With incredible deals, fast delivery options, curated lists like our Electronics Holiday Gift Guide, gift recommendations, customer reviews and more, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to save time and money on their holiday shopping.”

Some of the early Black Friday deals include:

  • 30% off Sony XBR55X900C 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD TV with a Blu-ray Player
  • $170 off the Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens
  • 47% off Jaybird X Sport Bluetooth Headphones
  • 40% off Frye, select shoes, handbags, accessories, and luggage/travel for men and women
  • $10 off select $50 Black & Decker product purchases

Electronics gift guide

The Electronics Holiday Gift Guide has more than 600 popular gift items, organized by category and gift recipient. The guide features camera gear from GoPro and Canon, as well as electronic gadgets and Bluesmart Smart Carry-On Luggage.

Something new this year – Amazon is using 3D imagery of popular gifts in its online displays.

Amazon also says it can predict a few trends for holiday gift-giving. It says consumers are looking for high-tech at low-budget prices. It says the new Amazon Fire tablet fits nicely into that category.

Also in demand this holiday season – wearables from brands like Jawbone, Fitbit, and Garmin, offering style and the ability to monitor personal health.

Online shopping will also be more hands-free, Amazon predicts. It says consumers are using more voice-activated devices to search for and order items on their shopping lists.

Amazon.com has taken additional steps to gear up for the holiday shopping season, launching a Black Friday Deals Store and unveiling its Electronics Holida...

Article Image

REI to close on Black Friday, will give employees a paid day off

As Black Friday has crept into Thanksgiving and encroached on Cyber Monday, there has been something of a consumer backlash.

Some consumers have found the unfettered commercialism a bit unsettling, empathizing with the sleep-deprived retail workforce that seemingly has to be on the clock throughout that weekend. Some retailers have noticed and are responding.

Earlier this month, Staples announced it would remain closed on Thanksgiving so its employees can enjoy the holiday. But REI, the specialty outdoor retailer, has upped the ante in the nice-guy competition.

Take a hike

While other retailers are talking about how early they will open on Black Friday, REI has announced it will be closed on the busiest shopping day of the holiday season. Not only that, the company is giving employees the day off with pay, encouraging them to spend it outdoors.

Crazy, right? Maybe, but crazy like a fox.

“Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the essential truth that life is richer, more connected and complete when you choose to spend it outside,” said Jerry Stritzke, president and CEO of REI. “We’re closing our doors, paying our employees to get out there, and inviting America to OptOutside with us because we love great gear, but we are even more passionate about the experiences it unlocks.”

Passing up the hoards of consumers eager to spend money on the day after Thanksgiving, and instead reveling in the beauty of nature, fits perfectly into REI's corporate vision. That, after all, is what it is selling.

Bonding with customers

At a time when consumers appear to choose products and brands that reflect their personal values, this is a perfect way to bond with the store's core customer.

REI operates 143 U.S. retail locations, a headquarters, and two distribution centers that employ a total of 12,000 people who will get both Thanksgiving and Black Friday off, something unheard of in the retail industry.

Is REI trying to make a point? You bet.

“As a member-owned co-op, our definition of success goes beyond money,” Stritzke said. “We believe that a life lived outdoors is a life well lived and we aspire to be stewards of our great outdoors. We think that Black Friday has gotten out of hand and so we are choosing to invest in helping people get outside with loved ones this holiday season, over spending it in the aisles.”

Stritzke said he hopes consumers take a break from shopping and enjoy the great outdoors. To do so would undoubtedly be good for the soul.

And if they need a backpack, it'll be pretty good for REI as well.

As Black Friday has crept into Thanksgiving and encroached on Cyber Monday, there has been something of a consumer backlash.Some consumers have found t...

Article Image

Retailers using free shipping for a competitive edge this holiday season

If you sell products online, how do you set yourself apart from your competitors? Last holiday season it was free shipping.

This holiday season, free shipping might be the default mode. A retailer that isn't offering it may risk lowering their sales numbers. A consumer who doesn't demand it may be leaving money on the table.

Over the weekend BestBlackFriday.com reported that Target will repeat last year's offer of free shipping with no minimum purchase.

Returns free also

“While Target has not yet made an official announcement, it appears as though they will indeed offer free shipping and returns from November 1 through December 25 for every single order, regardless of the amount,” BestBlackFriday.com wrote in a post. “This includes standard shipping to 48 states and it may exclude oversized items.”

The website has published a screen shot from Target's leaked toy catalog, advertising the shipping offer.

Best Buy has already disclosed its plan to give customers free shipping with no minimum purchase amount. The move will surely increase competition this holiday season -- a move that was not made last year when customers had to spend at least $35 to get free shipping.

Walmart and Amazon

“This leaves Walmart and Amazon as the only two of the four largest Black Friday stores that have not offered free shipping with no minimum in the last two years,” Best Black Friday notes. “While they did not give into Target offering it last year, they could be pushed to offer it this year.”

Last year, Walmart provided free shipping on all orders $50 or more. Amazon provided free shipping for orders $35 or more, which is equal to what Best Buy offered last year.

But that was then and this is now. Consumers appear to be gaining leverage, holding out for free shipping and – so far – getting it from Target and Best Buy.

Amazon uses free shipping to sell Prime memberships and may be reluctant to go all in. But Phil Dengler, of Jones-Dengler Marketing – operator of BestBlackFriday.com – tells ConsumerAffairs he expects Walmart will be the next retailer to take up the free shipping challenge. The company may even look for a way to up the ante.

If you sell products online, how do you set yourself apart from your competitors? Last holiday season it was free shipping.This holiday season, free sh...

Article Image

Staples bucks trend of opening stores Thanksgiving Day

There's been a growing consumer backlash against Black Friday spilling over into Thanksgiving Day, intruding on the traditional holiday celebration.

Perhaps with that in mind, Staples says its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving, even though its website, Staples.com, will be happy to accept orders between the turkey and pumpkin pie.

As it rolled out its Black Friday plans this week, the office and electronics retailer said its strategy spreads across three platforms – in-store, online, and mobile.

Even though its stores will remain closed on Thanksgiving, Staples says it will offer plenty of bargains that day on its website with more being offered through Cyber Monday.

Stores open 6 a.m. on Black Friday

Stores, meanwhile, will open bright and early on Black Friday.

“We want our customers and associates to enjoy Thanksgiving their own way,” said Demos Parneros, president, North American stores and online, Staples. “On Thanksgiving Day, customers can shop from home on Staples.com and then continue their shopping in stores starting at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. Whether our customers like the convenience of shopping online, in our stores or a combination of both, Staples will have amazing products at great prices throughout the holiday season.”

In the last couple of years retailers haven't waited until Thanksgiving weekend to start marking down items. Staples says it will begin offering deals in early November, cutting prices on “a huge assortment” of electronics and business-related products.

Free shipping and price match

“At Staples, our small business customers get more for less every day, including this holiday season,” said Alison Corcoran, senior vice president, North American stores and online marketing, Staples.

Corcoran says Staples Rewards members will get a few extra perks, including free shipping.

“And everyone can buy online and pick up in store for an easy same-day option,” she said.

As many retailers are doing these days, Staples offers a price match guarantee. The company says all that is required is to show a customer service associate the lower price and Staples will match it.

Staples' decision to close stores on Thankgiving while keeping its website taking orders fits nicely into two trends, First, larger shares of holiday shopping move to online each year.

Second, retail experts last year concluded that consumers are increasingly uncomfortable with"Black Friday Creep" intruding into the least-commercialized of American holidays.

There's been a growing consumer backlash against Black Friday spilling over into Thanksgiving Day, intruding on the traditional holiday celebration.Per...

Article Image

Holiday shopping site predicts 2015 deals

What's ahead for the holiday shopping season? BestBlackFriday.com, a website property of Jones-Dengler Marketing, is predicting Black Friday will be less of a one-day, in-store event as shopping spreads to surrounding days and online shopping sites.

For consumers making an early shopping list, the company has compiled data to predict where the bargains will be this year in a wide variety of categories.

“In order to come up with our figures, we went through over 150 ads from last year and thousands of products,” Phillip Dengler, principal at Jones-Dengler Marketing, told ConsumerAffairs.

Shoppers looking for an HDTV should be able to find a 32-inch model for just $70 this year, and a 50-inch model for as little as $175. BestBlackFriday.com predicts the iPad Air 2 will go for $375, a $125 discount. The new iPad Mini 4 is expected to be offered as low as $325.

The Amazon Fire HD 6 will approach stocking-stuffer prices at around $60. The Samsung Galaxy Tabs should start at $90, with an average price of $250.

Ridiculous prices on laptops

Staying with an electronics theme, BestBlackFriday.com predicts ridiculously low prices on laptops. You might be able to pick up a PC under $100, with an average price of $300.

Name brands will be pricier but still attractive. Look for the MacBook Air starting at $769 and the MacBook Pro line starting at $849.

“The Apple Store will once again offer no direct discounts,” Dengler said. “They will, however, bundle gift cards worth $25 to $100 when paying full price.”

Meanwhile, he says sales on Apple items including the watch, iPads, Macs, Apple TV, iPhones, and other devices will be readily available at most stores.

Even though mobile carriers are phasing out subsidies for two-year contracts, Dengler says some people will still be eligible. They could find the new iPhone 6s for $99 with a two-year contract.

Where to find the deals

Where will consumers find the most aggressive deals? The company predicts JCPenney will once again have the highest average discount for their sale at around 60%. Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon will once again be toward the bottom, with average store discounts of around 30%.

The overall average discount on Black Friday for every store will be around 39.55%, the company predicts. For many, the deals may prove hard to resist.

The website predicts total Black Friday sales of $8.8 billion, declining 3.29% from 2014. But it expects Thanksgiving sales to more than make up for the decline, rising 18.8%.

Meanwhile, more of those shoppers will be purchasing online instead of going to the store. Combined online sales Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday are predicted to surge by 33%.

After that, however, the deals could get even better. Dengler's advice? Do the bulk of your shopping in December.

What's ahead for the holiday shopping season? BestBlackFriday.com, a website property of Jones-Dengler Marketing, is predicting Black Friday will be less o...

Article Image

Spirit of Black Friday extending well into December

Maybe one reason Black Friday sales were a bit disappointing to retailers is consumers appear to be in no rush to wrap up their holiday shopping. American Express predicts the vast majority of shoppers plan to be in stores right up until Christmas, and even the day after.

With sales starting in early November savvy consumers are betting the deals will only get better as the big day draws closer. American Express says it's a definite shift from previous years.

“This year’s holiday shopping season does not seem to have a clear-cut beginning, middle or end,” said David Rabkin, Senior Vice President of Consumer Lending Products at American Express. “Americans are spending steadily over a longer period of time, willing to hold out for better deals, even planning to hit the stores even after Christmas to get the gifts they want at the right price.”

More last-minute shoppers

In American Express' survey, 79% of consumers said they plan to do last minute shopping, up from 75% last year. Average projected spending on the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day in the UK, is $192, up from $188 in 2013.

Regifting is also becoming more common. About 75% now say giving an unwanted gift to someone else is socially acceptable, with kitchenware the most likely gift to be repurposed. So if you give someone on your list a set of steak knives, it's likely to end up as someone else's birthday present.

Electronics are the least likely items to be regifted. After all, who doesn't like a new gadget?

Returns

While re-gifting is getting more popular, plenty of people will be lining up at customer service to return or exchange a gift. Among shoppers who plan to return and/or exchange gifts the day after Christmas, 95% say they plan to spend the same or more at the store that day.

And returning a gift is not nearly the social faux pas it once was. Nearly half of consumers say they have no qualms about telling the person who gave them the gift that they returned it.

Despite lower gasoline prices and an improving economy, this holiday season is not shaping up as one of over-indulgence. In fact, more shoppers – 70% – insist they are sticking to their budgets this year.

Higher holiday costs

Tempering the urge to splurge are some unexpected higher holiday season costs. Shipping costs are up this year, as are holiday decorations and wrapping paper. And even though oil prices have plunged, holiday air travel hasn't gotten any cheaper.

While consumers have done a good job of trimming their gift lists this year, more consumers have shopped for an additional person – themselves. American Express projects 74% of consumers will have bought themselves a gift this year, up from 53% last year. Not surprisingly, more than half those purchases will be impulse buys.

Feeding the trend

Retailers are feeding the trend for ongoing bargain hunting by continuing promotions that typically end with Cyber Monday. Walmart.com this week launched Cyber Monday 2.0, offering deals on electronics, toys and games, appliances and jewelry. There's free shipping on orders over $50.

Other retailers are slashing prices with more than a week to go before Christmas. According to BlackFriday.com, Amazon.com this week marked down the popular video game Assassin's Creed for Playstation 4 from $59.99 to $29.99.

Maybe one reason Black Friday sales were a bit disappointing to retailers is consumers appear to be in no rush to wrap up their holiday shopping. American ...

Article Image

Cyber Monday just another shopping day

In the distant past – 2007, for instance – Black Friday and Cyber Monday were their own standalone holiday shopping events.

People lined up in front of department stores in the early morning hours the day after Thanksgiving for door-buster specials.

Then the following Monday they would go to work and, while the boss wasn't looking, go online to shop for bargains on electronic gadgets.

Ah, the quaint days of yesteryear.

Blurred lines

Now, November has become one long triathlon for competitive retailers and bargain-hungry consumers. The lines between Black Friday and Cyber Monday have blurred into one long weekend of sales promotions.

Eric Jones of Jones-Dengler Marketing, operator of the BestBlackFriday.com website, says most retailers shifted gears from Black Friday to Cyber Monday over the weekend without skipping a beat.

“In other words, there is really no difference,” Jones told ConsumerAffairs. “Stores are continuing the same online sales with slightly different products but the same theme and just renaming each one.”

In fact, he says his company's Black Friday website had more traffic on Thanksgiving than Black Friday itself while his Cyber Monday website surpassed the Black Friday website in traffic over the weekend.

Cyber Monday started Saturday

Meanwhile, major online retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.com started their Cyber Monday sales promotions on Saturday.

Amazon, which pioneered Cyber Monday marketing, is stretching the event into 8 days, running into next weekend. While the earliest Cyber Monday shopping events focused mostly on electronics, Amazon and other retailers are pushing discounts on toys, housewares, apparel and other gift categories.

In announcing its early bargains, Amazon said it will be selling a Sony 40-inch 1080p LED TV for $298; an LG 49-inch Smart 4K Ultra HD LED TV for $999 with 15% back in rewards; and an Acer Chromebook at $149.

Over the weekend the Amazon Appstore offered sale prices on popular apps and games.

It works

Why have retailers stepped up the selling pressure? In short, because they have found that it pays off. Giving consumers more opportunities to shop for bargains usually means they will shop and buy more. And that may be especially true this year.

Since 2009 retailers have had to compete for a shrinking consumer dollar, as the financial crisis and Great Recession meant consumers were much more bargain-conscious. Consumers continue to look for deals – and have many more technology tools to help them find them – but this year they have a little more money in their pockets, thanks to falling gasoline prices.

But the fear that their competitor will get to the customer first has sparked the earlier, and more intense holiday sales promotions, all of which threaten to take the wind out of the sails of these traditional holiday shopping days.

Preliminary figures suggest foot traffic was down at brick and mortar locations on Black Friday. That may be because more purchases were made online -- and not by people sitting at their computers at home.

Branding Brand, a mobile commerce platform provider, reports just over one-third of online purchases on Black Friday were made from mobile devices, up 48% over last year.

As more purchases move to online sales and start earlier and last longer, Cyber Monday may turn out to be just another shopping day.

In the distant past – 2007, for instance – Black Friday and Cyber Monday were their own stand-alone holiday shopping events. People lined up in front of d...

Article Image

Consumers may be more choosy on Black Friday

Even though the nation's retailers have rolled out sales promotions all month long, most still expect a robust turnout for Black Friday, which increasingly starts on Thanksgiving day. But they might have to work harder for shoppers.

A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) finds 61% of consumers may or will shop either Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. That equates to about 140 million consumers – roughly the same as last year.

Why no growth in the numbers? It may be because there have already been plenty of deals. It could also mean more bargain-conscious consumers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

“Consumers today want more than just the discounts they’ve been showered with since the start of the recession; they want exclusive offerings and a good reason to spend their discretionary budgets,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Major shift

In fact, Shay believes there could be a major shift this year as shoppers become more picky. The Internet gives consumers multiple tools to compare prices and the difference of just a couple of dollars – or the inclusion of free shopping – could influence a buying decision.

While there has been criticism of retailers launching their Black Friday promotions on Thanksgiving, there appear to be significant demographic differences in those attitudes. The survey suggests much of the criticism is confined to older generations.

Millennials, on the other hand, are much more willing to including shopping as part of their Thanksgiving Day activities. Nearly one-quarter of 18 to 24 year olds said they plan to shop on the holiday.

“For younger shoppers, shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday is as much a social experience as it is a buying mission,” said polling firm Prosper Insights & Analytics Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “While these shoppers may not have the biggest holiday budgets or the longest shopping lists, they still enjoy the ‘tradition’ of heading out with friends and family on two of retail’s most exciting shopping days.”

Last year for old credit cards?

Shay, meanwhile, says this could be the last holiday shopping season in which consumers use the current magnetic strip credit and debit cards that are more prone to fraud. He says these cards haven't been updated since the 1960s, despite 21st-century cyber threats and criminals who use the Internet to steal money from half a world away.

“The good news is that the card industry plans to roll out new cards in 2015 that will replace the easy-to-copy magnetic stripe with a sophisticated computer microchip that is far more difficult to counterfeit,” Shay writes in an op-ed. “Chip-based EMV cards are used in 80 countries and have reduced fraud as much as 75%.”

However, Shay also notes that U.S. banks don’t plan to replace the signature with a personal identification number the way banks have in the rest of the world. Rather than “chip-and-PIN,” U.S. banks are calling their new cards “chip and choice.”

Retailers are expressing disappointment. Shay says the PIN is a critical element of fraud reduction and that where it has been implemented, it has worked. He says the chip ensures that the card is real, but the PIN is needed to prove that the person trying to use it is the legitimate cardholder.

“In today’s world of high-tech criminal hacking, an easily forged, illegible scrawl at the bottom of a receipt is no longer good enough,” Shay says.

Even though the nation's retailers have rolled out sales promotions all month long, most still expect a robust turnout for Black Friday, which increasingly...

Article Image

Pressure building on retailers as Black Friday looms

Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, is coming up next week. But observant consumers have already seen plenty of deals from major retailers, who are outdoing one another in rolling out early bargains.

This week Walmartannounced it is lowering prices of the season's hottest gifts to beat the Black Friday offers its competitors have revealed so far. The announcement coiincides with Walmart's Pre-Black Friday Event that starts today, a week ahead of the big day.

“The retail environment is incredibly competitive and we know that our customers are looking to us for the lowest prices and great deals all season long,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. “That’s why we’ve more than doubled the amount of items included in our Pre-Black Friday Event.

Motivation

Retailers like Walmart are pushing up holiday sales promotions for two main reasons. Just like last year, Black Friday falls very late in November, reducing the number of shopping days before Christmas.

But beyond the calendar concerns, retailers are trying to get as many consumer dollars as possible and win over consumers before Black Friday itself. For its part, Walmart said it will match competitors' Black Friday prices on these items:

  • 40-inch LED HDTV
  • 60-inch TVs from LG and Sony
  • A PlayStation 4 offer
  • Canon Wireless Printer
  • Keurig K-40
  • KitchenAid Stand Mixer
  • Select Lego sets

On sale now

As part of its pre-Black Friday event, Walmart said it will sell a Samsung 58-inch Class Smart LED HDTV for $698; an iPad Air 2 16 GB WiFi for $489 and throw in a $100 Walmart gift card; an iPhone 6 for $179 with a 2-year service plan on Sprint, AT&T or Verizon; and a Black & Decker 18v 2-Battery NiCad Drill for $69.88 and among other things.

Walmart this week had to confront the downside of a price match offer when it discovered people were making up fake ads for Playstation game consoles at ridiculously low prices. It's amended its policy to exclude matching ads from Amazon.com.

CNBC.com reported that Amazon members with a registered selling account can create a product sale listing. Pulling off the the fraud only required a screen capture of the listing that could be printed out and used to request a Walmart price match.

Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, is coming up next week. But observant consumers have already seen plenty of deals from ...

Article Image

Are stores making a mistake opening on Thanksgiving?

In the last couple of years major retailers have begun opening their doors on Thanksgiving in an effort to get a jump on Black Friday sales. It's worked well enough that more of them are doing it, and opening earlier in the day.

But is there a growing consumer backlash? The New York Times has called it “the war on Thanksgiving” and a recent poll suggests that many consumers have decided “Black Friday creep” has gone too far.

According to new research conducted for Eventbrite, 62% of Americans think Black Friday sales that start on Thanksgiving Day will detract from the family Thanksgiving experience. The takeaway, say company officials, is Americans aren’t happy with retailers’ decision to open on a day meant to be spent with friends and family.

Bad policy

A retail expert agrees. Arun Jain, a marketing professor at the University at Buffalo (UB), says retailers who keep pushing the Black Friday start time deeper into Thanksgiving Day are making a strategic error.

“It’s a pity that in the richest country in the world, we cannot reserve even a single day for family, and there is a good chance it could backfire with consumer boycotts,” he said.

A better strategy, says Jain, would be opening early Black Friday morning – the way retailers did in the not-too-distant past – and offer spectacular doorbuster bargains. He believes consumers would still show up and still spend money but have a better shopping experience.

“Shoppers will be greeted by happy employees who were able to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones instead of being forced to work,” Jain said. “Happier sales people are more helpful sales people, which leads to higher sales and a more positive evaluation of the store by consumers.”

Make being closed a virtue

Instead of pressuring their tenants to open on Thanksgiving, Jain says shopping malls should make a virtue of preserving the holiday. He recommends making it part of a marketing campaign, advertising the fact stores will be closed so employees can spend time with their families.

“This is an opportunity for retailers to say what they stand for and that they respect workers, their families and this uniquely American tradition,” Jain said.

Walmart pioneered the open-on-Thanksgiving approach but Sears, Best Buy, Macy's, Target, J.C. Penney and others have joined the party in the last few years. This year Kmart is opening at 6:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and plans to remain open for 41 consecutive hours.

Empathy for employees

As the Times points out, customers will show up on Thanksgiving if a store is open. That, after all, is why stores are doing it.

The issue is the people who work at the stores. They are the ones who have to work on a holiday when everyone else is eating turkey, watching football, and now, shopping.

As Jain points out, these employees usually have families – who are also consumers – and they would like to have everyone around the table on Thanksgiving Day.

Jain says stores that allow that to happen just might benefit in the long run.

In the last couple of years major retailers have begun opening their doors on Thanksgiving in an effort to get a jump on Black Friday sales. It's worked we...

Article Image

Black Friday no longer just a day

As retailers in recent years have jockeyed for Black Friday dollars, the lines between the traditional kick-off to holiday shopping and any other day have become blurred. So blurred that perhaps Black Friday, the day, has become almost meaningless in the whole scheme of things.

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, states the obvious when it says Black Friday is not just one day, but a lot of days.

“Black Friday is no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn to stand in long lines and hope for the best. At Walmart, it has become a family shopping tradition where everyone shops at some point throughout the weekend,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer at Walmart U.S.

The day itself is still important

Make no mistake, Mac Naughton and everyone else at Walmart is hoping you show up when the doors open Thanksgiving night. They know that Black Friday has become an event in which many consumers want to participate.

But increasingly retailers like Walmart have been spreading out their deals in the days before and after the day itself in an effort to grab market share. Target this week announced a number of deals that will be available through its mobile app from November 23 through 29. Walmart's “new Black Friday” concept is now a nearly week-long promotion, extending through Cyber Monday.

“This year, we’re blowing it out with five days of deals in store and online,” Mac Naughton said. “We’ll have crazy low prices on the gifts our customers want.”

Fight for customers intensifying

Eric Jones of Jones-Dengler Marketing and operator of the BestBlackFriday.com web site, sees Walmart's move asjust another attempt to further increase sales in a market that may be becoming diluted.

“When retailers used to all open up early Friday morning, they had to fight for shoppers,” Jones told ConsumerAffairs. “Now, they're simply opening for longer times, so if a shopper happens to be at a different store at the beginning of the sale, they can still make that same sale later in the night, or even a completely different day.”

Compared to last year Walmart says it has lowered prices on popular Black Friday items. Last year a Vizio 60” Smart TV sold for $688. This year a 65” Vizio Smart TV will be available for $648 as part of Walmart’s 1-Hour Guarantee, meaning consumers in a certain area of the store at a certain hour are guaranteed the purchase at the sale price.

The Xbox One, available last year for $499, is going this year as a bundle for $329 with a $30 Walmart Gift Card. It too, is a 1-Hour Guarantee item.

The retailer has also beefed up its inventory, promising three times the number of PlayStation 4 and other gaming consoles available to shoppers. It says it will have 30% more smartphones, mobile accessories and other wireless offerings than last year.

New trend

Walmart is also joining other retailers not waiting for Black Friday, for fear of losing consumer dollars to a rival. Jones says it has been an accelerating trend in 2014.

“This year especially retailers seem to be offering Black Friday prices for special pre-Black Friday events that last one day,” Jones said. “We've already seen this with a number of retailers such as Sam's Club, Best Buy, Target and now Walmart.”

In fact, Jones says Sam's Club has released a Holiday Savings sale ad for this Saturday, November 15,, for a one day event with prices that are matching or beating many Black Friday ads that have already leaked.

As retailers in recent years have jockeyed for Black Friday dollars, the lines between the traditional kick-off to holiday shopping and any other day have...