Don't buy these 4 things on Black Friday
Black Friday has become synonymous in our minds with great deals. Often, the deals are impressive as businesses compete for shoppers' attention and dollars. But there’s a dirty little Black Friday secret.
Just because you're buying on Black Friday doesn't mean you're getting the biggest savings. You might do better buying before or after, depending on the product. But how do you know?
Every year, software giant Adobe uses its Adobe Marketing Cloud to crunch numbers and make predictions about the upcoming season. Adobe says that it's been accurate within about 2% every year so far. This year, it examined 55 million products from 4,500 retailers stretching back to 2008 and released an incredibly detailed report. So, what does it tell us?
1. Electronics
According to Adobe, the Monday before Thanksgiving is generally the cheapest day for buying electronics, with an average discount of 18% across 17% of items. You can find bigger single-item discounts on products Thanksgiving Day and after, but you'll also see a lot more "out-of-stock" notices if you wait.
Be aware that around 76% of shoppers buy the same 1% of product makes and models, which are mostly electronics. So if you don't buy early, you might not get that popular item you had your eye on.
This year for electronics, Adobe says Apple gadgets should lead the sales in wearables (Apple Watch), online video streaming (Apple TV) and tablets (iPad).
For video game consoles, the PlayStation 4 is going to be hot and Minecraft and Halo 5 are going to compete for the top video game.
If you're looking at 4K TVs, Adobe predicts most consumers will go for Sony over LG and Samsung. So, pay attention to the non-Sony brands for bigger discounts as retailers try to shift supply.
2. Toys
Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to check off some items from your family's Christmas wish lists. However, you might want to consider starting the weekend before Thanksgiving. While Cyber Monday traditionally has the cheapest toy prices, you'll get three times the out-of-stock notices. If you wait until the week before Christmas, that will double.
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According to Adobe, the hottest toys this year are going to be: the remote control BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Barbie, American Girl dolls, Lego, Hot Wheels, the remote controlled R2-D2 toy, Razor scooters, and toys based on Disney's Frozen. If your child has their heart set on any of these, buying early would be wise.
3. Jewelry
Thinking of getting your significant other something sparkly for Christmas? Thanksgiving Day is the best day to buy jewelry. You should see discounts of up to 25% across 20% of available items. You also shouldn't encounter many out-of-stock notices for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. Note that if you wait until December, you won't find better deals, and there will be a lot more items out of stock. So don't wait.
4. Apparel
Clothing and other apparel items are one area where Black Friday and the surrounding shopping days don't matter as much. Thanksgiving Day will have the best savings in November with discounts of up to 27%. However, prices traditionally drop even more in December, with Dec. 23 being the lowest. However, the out-of-stock risk on many products does go up as time passes.
Bonus: Some other interesting shopping facts for Black Friday
According to Adobe, deals generally start the Monday before Thanksgiving, so if you want to get a jump on shopping, go right ahead. Contrary to what you might think, Thanksgiving Day has the best deals, with Black Friday coming next, and prices increasing through Cyber Monday.
Still, Adobe expects U.S. consumers to spend $3 billion on Cyber Monday, with Black Friday coming in just behind at $2.7 billion. Thanksgiving Day shopping is also growing quickly with an expected $1.6 billion in sales, which is up 18% over last year. So, despite the growing number of retailers announcing that they're closed Thanksgiving, people will still be buying where they can, and many of them will do it online.
In fact, at least 51% of the shopping on Thanksgiving weekend will be done on mobile gadgets, which is the first time mobile shopping has crossed the 50% mark. However, Adobe finds that consumers think online shopping via mobile phone is also the most stressful way to shop thanks to the smaller screen and problems adding payment information. So, you might consider taking a tablet to your family gathering if you're planning to shop.
Also, if you do shop online, know that your best chance of finding deals is still through in-store displays. If you're looking for online deals, social media is the best place to find them, followed by promotional emails from the companies you like to shop at. Even if you're not signed up for a store's emails, you can look up promo codes for over 150,000 stores at various sites online.
On the Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show, Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com. Email her at techcomments@usatoday.com.