Hoping to get a new phone or buy a brand new gaming console?
If so, Black Friday 2020 is the best chance you have since it gives you some of the best deals around. It’s the best time to get started with the biggest shopping sales before Christmas. But without knowing what to expect, you won’t know how to make the most out of it.
Don’t panic yet.
With this guide, you’ll learn about shopping on Black Friday. These are tips that enable you to maximize the money you spend on these irresistible deals. Read on and find out more:
Black Friday 2020 Predictions
Last year, Black Friday saw $7.2 billion in digital sales in the United States. This represents a 14% increase compared to the year prior. This growth is most likely consistent, but it isn’t the only prediction to look out for.
Here are some:
Thanksgiving Backlash
With stores moving their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, they faced some serious backlash. To avoid it from happening again, more stores moved their sales on the World Wide Web on this day. Meanwhile, they keep their physical premises closed.
This made Thanksgiving Day a formidable day for online shopping. Regardless, some outlets will likely start their Black Friday Sale during Thanksgiving Eve. It’s because they want to be the earliest to get your attention, making it easier for them to persuade you to spend your holiday cash on them.
The Health Crisis Changes Black Friday
The good news that it’s unlikely for businesses to cancel their Black Friday deals. It will look different because of the current health crisis. It will blur the lines and prevent people from overcrowding stores and queueing up before sunrise.
In recent years, most retailers opened their stores on Thanksgiving, but not this year. Most major retailers already announced that their stores will remain closed by then. You can also expect no in-store events on Black Friday itself.
Regardless, expect the deals to arrive earlier, with some retailers launching far ahead of Thanksgiving. What this means is that all the doorbusters will be online. So, ensure that you have a stable internet connection and start browsing online storefronts soon.
How to Get the Best Black Friday Deals
The following are action items you must start on well before Black Friday hits. The earlier you do it, the more organized you become when it comes.
- Know the Things You Can Afford
A rare sales event is difficult to resist, but showing restraint now makes you more financially stable. Before you spend anything on Black Friday, stick to a budget. Make a list of people you’ll shop for, as well as the items you’ll buy from them and its estimated cost.
This will serve as your firm budget limit, meaning spending beyond it will be unacceptable. As the grand day draws near, do your best to know the real item costs. This allows you to stretch your money further and hopefully finish the day spending less than your initial estimate.
- Look at Pre-Black Friday Prices
A discount isn’t a deal if it only reduces an inflated price tag to something closer to a fair market value. That’s why you should use the weeks and months leading to Black Friday to set price alerts. Do this for the products you’re planning to get when the day comes.
Look at their rate of change over time, as well as their pre-holiday sales prices. This makes it easier for you to see pre-holiday price spikes for some products. That way, you’ll avoid becoming a victim of false deals.
Conversely, if you find an exceptional deal before the Black Friday period, seize the opportunity.
- Follower Retailers on Social Media
If you’re one of the many on Facebook, using this tip will pay you in dividends throughout the year. It’s especially important during the holidays since retailers often step up their promotional efforts. This makes them more likely to offer more last-minute deals.
That’s why you must follow your favorite retailers’ Facebook profiles. This increases your chances of getting targeted ads, which is great if you’re including this on your Black Friday shopping tactics. The accuracy of these ads depends on your privacy settings and web browsing habits.
Another great social media strategy is to look at Twitter for a list of retailers you patronize. Once you gathered them in one place, check it a couple of weeks before Black Friday. They most likely have flyers and one-off sale announcements out.
- Subscribe to Retail Newsletters
This tip carries even lower stakes compared to social media following. You need only a few seconds to put your email address. The best part is that you need not pay anything to get their standard newsletters.
If you don’t like your inbox to become a cluttered mess of ads, opt for a disposable email instead. An alternative is to use an email client since they can separate email ads in a different folder. Gmail is an exemplary example of this feature since they label these emails as promotional.
Regardless, pay attention to your newsletters once the season for Black Friday begins. Do this two weeks before the actual day since it keeps you updated. It’s more efficient than searching for deals online since they come directly from your favorite retailers.
- Bookmark Retailer Websites
This might be an obvious tip, but it’s surprising how lots of people don’t use their bookmarks to its fullest potential. If you bookmark a website, add descriptions to its title. For example, if you’re bookmarking this link from Lenovo, you can label it as “Lenovo: Computer and Laptop Sales.”
The good news is that these labels only need to make sense to you. You can also compartmentalize your retail collection by making folders for Black Friday. This is an important tip if you bookmarked a lot of websites.
- Understand Price Matching Policies
Not all retailers price-match, especially if they’re clearance sales. That’s why you must never assume that all retailers will price-match. Read the fine print within their website and look for Black Friday flyers. This will allow you to ascertain whether they make exclusions specific to that shopping holiday.
Most retailers’ price matching policies require you to document a discrepancy. That’s why you must keep your phone close to show them competitors’ product pages. This also applies to credit card protection policies.
- Understand Return Policies and Fees
As part of your efforts to know retailer policies, you must familiarize yourself with their return policies. The most generous companies offer no-questions-asked returns with cash refunds as long as it’s within a specific duration. In most cases, this is 14 days, but it will depend on the specific retailer.
The items you return must be in its original packaging. Take note, retailers are unlikely to accept opened items. It’s even rarer for you to find retailers offering cash refunds for unopened returns.
The good news is that they’re more apt to loosen their policies when it’s Black Friday or during the holidays. This means you might have a longer window for returns or a more relaxed set of conditions. It’s even better when major retailers have similar return policies in some product categories.
But some types of items have stricter return policies, such as undergarments. The worst part is that such industries have “all-sales-are-final” policies as their standard. When encountering these, you can’t do a lot about it.
That’s why you must avoid buying from retailers when their policies are restrictive even during Black Friday. Take note, the retail environment during this period is more competitive. This means you can always opt for the more generous ones in the market.
- Plan Your Itinerary
Before leaving your home, make an efficient itinerary. For example, if you want to shop in chain retailers, go for the closest or the most convenient branch. You need not drive to the opposite side of town when you can find a comparable shop within a mile of your home.
Whenever possible, do your shopping at superstores like Walmart. It’s because they have lots of departments at consistently low prices. This also applies to warehouse clubs since their pricing is difficult to beat despite their lack of wider variety.
Always budget more time than your perceived need at each outlet. In most cases, busy shopping districts and malls become a pool of chaos come Black Friday. That’s why you’re likely to encounter heavy foot traffic.
- Download a Black Friday App
Going out on Black Friday without this app won’t do your wallet justice. The good news is that you have lots of free Black Friday shopping apps to choose from. This allows you to gather coupons and other deals.
Shop on Black Friday This Year!
These are some of the things you must expect when Black Friday 2020 comes. Use the tips above to ensure that you make the most out of the ludicrous deals this shopping holiday has to offer.
Of course, to take full advantage you’ll need to know which stores offer the best deals. Check out our other guides right here to find some of the on-going cyber deals right now!
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