How To Score Deals That Are Cheaper Than You’ll Get on Black Friday
Written by
David Nadelle
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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It’s a matter of days until what could turn out to be the biggest Thanksgiving spending weekend ever. However, as shoppers look toward Black Friday and Cyber Monday — and everything in between — for the biggest bargains, some extra thought will provide much needed perspective about the upcoming five days of deals.
While consumers have many opportunities to take advantage of sales events over Thanksgiving weekend, many stores capitalize on the spectacle without offering the savings.
According to CNBC, Black Friday deals are often misleading — and the same items on sale can be found at other times of the year for the same price or even lower. “I don’t know that Black Friday has the same level of value that it did years ago,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com.
Some of the biggest discounts take place way before the Black Friday/Cyber Monday extravaganza, on the Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Many companies put certain items, like exercise equipment, bedding and jewelry, on sale in January to lure shoppers looking to start off the New Year with a new purchase.
The Lure of Black Friday
As NPR reported, it’s easy to get sucked in by the hype during the weeks leading up to, and including, Black Friday. Retailers know that consumers will want to spend a lot of money and start early, so they invest in extravagant marketing campaigns and great deals long before the main event.
“They’re probably not running longer promotions out of the goodness of their heart,” said Kelly Goldsmith, a marketing professor at Vanderbilt University. “They’re probably running longer promotions out of a planned strategy in order to recruit more customers and accrue more revenue through doing so.”
Where Can You Get Cheaper Deals?
Thank competition and technology for being able to sleuth out items when they’re at their cheapest. As NBC noted, savvy consumers should be using a number of shopping strategies throughout the year, including price-trackers, stacking discounts and comparison rewards apps.
It’s easy to get notified of low prices on sought-after products and use techniques to save the most money possible. Using price comparison tools — like the Amazon tracker camelcamelcamel — for example, will monitor specific items and send you alerts when their prices drop.
Stacking discounts, coupons or promotions can maximize savings on purchases by combining deals with card rewards or cash-back sites like Rakuten. Additionally, there are a number of ways you can receive free gift cards. By scanning in-store and online receipts, you can earn a percentage back in gift cards on the Fetch app.
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