What to Buy in November and Save

If your holiday shopping season hasn’t started by now, you’ll undoubtedly hit the ground running in November.

The month is defined by the pending Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, often the time that consumers specifically wait for in the hopes of snagging amazing deals for those on their holiday buying list.

Buying also is consistent the entire month, too, with nearly half of the shoppers spending their entire holiday budget in November, suggesting that waiting for December isn't high on their list of shopping priorities.

Obviously, the success, sales wise, for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is well documented and defines November.

The 2017 holiday season saw impressive numbers for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday with reported sales at about $335.47 per person on either of the two major shopping days in November, with 75 percent of those buys for gifts, naturally; Millennials spent a little more than average with just over $419.52.^[1]

Retailers see this windfall as a positive, too, as some have candidly admitted these two sales days often are a “make or break” endeavor as far as yearly and fourth-quarter earnings are concerned, so the push to sell and get customers in the door on searching online is paramount.

Retailers earned just under 8 billion dollars last year on Black Friday in total, which was up 18 percent versus 2016, with an additional 7 billion on Cyber Monday, making it the largest online shopping day of 2017.^[2]

That same report showed Black Friday online also was a huge success with 40 percent of purchases made on a smart phone, with only a slight decline (less than 1 percent) on in-store traffic.

So it’s easy to see how successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday are, but those are just two days out of 30 in the month of November, so you’ll see some fluctuation in what makes the most sense to buy throughout the entire month but also on those days.

We’ll examine the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday items, but also detail a few other products that make sense, too, as far as shopping and saving money in November, and also feature an article later this month on Black Friday and Cyber Monday that note specific deals put forth by retailers.

This year, in terms of holiday shopping, forecasts continue and not surprisingly look strong across the entire retail spectrum. And when you talk holiday shopping, again, that includes all of November, so certain purchases are going to save you more than others.

In recent years, holiday shopping wise, consumers were just below the $1,000 benchmark in terms of the amount they’d spend.

That number is expected to eclipse $1,000 ($1,007.24 to be exact) this holiday season a 4.1 percent increase from last year ($967.13), with main spending categories broken up by gift giving ($637), non-holiday related items such as food, decorations, cards, etc. ($215.04) and miscellaneous spending as well ($154.53).^[3]

The survey conducted in October also suggests that retail sales are going to be up 4.3 percent in November and 4.8 percent in December versus 2017 with about 717 to 720 billion in total holiday sales.

On average, Black Friday sees discounts anywhere from high 30 percent off to as much as nearing half off.

Last year, Black Friday averaged 44 percent off on average, which was down slightly from 2016 (45 percent), with stores like Best Buy, Kohl’s and Target cited as backing off the discounts to a degree, but saw brands like Sears increase discounts from 45 to 48 percent as well as the heavy hitter Wal-Mart going from 39 percent to 41 percent.^[4]

This all equates to a fast-paced, hectic but profitable November for you, the consumer, when it comes to buying what makes the most sense.

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday variables play a huge role in that decision making, but also are concerning in that not all products being put forth on those two huge shopping days are actually smart buys.

The marketing and delivery of promotion for certain products might skew you in the wrong direction, leaving you to buy something that sounds good in theory when you see the discount but actually isn’t that wonderful of a deal.

That’s what makes November tricky as far as knowing what to buy and what to pass on, even though you’ll have a penchant to buy, well, almost everything because of the holiday shopping element involved.

Here’s what you need to focus on in November, period:

Electronics: Black Friday is big on gaming, TVs, but that’s the case most of the month

If Black Friday really has a sweet spot, it’s in the electronics field, mainly computers, TVs and especially gaming consoles and package deals.

November is a prime month that sees discounts on all things electronics, and that includes speakers and GPS devices.

The real savings typically center on video games and bundles, along with computers and TVs playing a very close second and third.

The past two shopping season saw significant discounts on Xbox and PlayStation models, with talk of the Xbox One X dipping under the $400 mark and the PS4, a two-year favorite now, perhaps go as low as $300 for the console.^[5]

You would be hard pressed to ignore the plethora of television deals in November as well, as history has shown the discounts are heavy if you’re in the 4K, high definition market.

A lot of what drives the TV discount is the propensity of retailers to get rid of older models, and by old you’re talking last year’s fare. A few years ago, the average savings on a TV was between $200 and as much as $1,000; a 55 inch 4K, curved LED TV from Wal-Mart was priced at $300 in 2016, another example of massive discounts for consumers on TVs.^[6]

The same report out showed that laptops on Black Friday and in November (but again, mostly Black Friday) were as low as $99 and topped out at only $450, and that would be for a significant piece of equipment on the latter price.

As far as what retailers, electronics wise, you’ll want to focus on, it’s hard to overlook discounts being put forth on a consistent, year-by-year basis by the likes of Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and directly buying from Amazon and Apple. You’ll tend to get better deals sticking to the larger entities, and also when it comes to Apple specifically, buying direct from them might actually generate larger discounts just due to the retailer-consumer direct buy aspect customers might overlook.

Smart Everything: From phones to tablets, watches, you can’t go wrong with them all

Earlier, Apple and Amazon were mentioned, and that’s because not only do they do laptops, gaming and TVs, but you can’t look past the smart phone, watches, tablets and all things home smart devices as well when it comes to saving money and spending in November.

Forecasters are calling for huge sales and doorbuster deals across the entire retail footprint as it relates to smart, well, everything.

Amazon Echo and Google Home are expected to be big-ticket hits with consumers, with Amazon leading the charge, reported offering a $30 to $80 discount during Cyber Monday and the entire week on the Echo but also the Fire tablet and TV stick.^[7]

The early leak of the Wal-Mart Black Friday deals from a smartphone and tablet perspective show a litany of deals to choose from, whether it’s an $879 64GB iPhone X or discounts on older models such as the iPhone 7 and 8 being priced at $429, $549, $579 and $679 depending on your choice between 32GB and 64.^[8]

Apple also is leaking some iPad discounts for Black Friday, with 17 percent off the Apple iPad Pro, 10.5 inch (last year’s model) and $30 off the Apple iPad mini 4 (again last year’s model), and a whopping 21 percent off the iPad Pro 9.7 inch model from two years ago.^[9]

Appliances: Vacuums, to some surprise, lead the way for discounts in this category

Often overshadowed by the plethora of video games, TVs, laptops, smart phones and tablets is the amount you can save in November on all things appliances.

Whether you’re in the market for a new washer, dryer set or can’t get a new refrigerator or dishwasher fast enough, appliances are huge mover and shaker for November, especially vacuum cleaners.

November is a prime time to buy a new vacuum, whether you’re in the market for a Shark, Dyson or any of the other heavy hitters in this venue. Last year, according to published reports, had discounts between 25 to 60 percent off in preparation for spring cleaning, as an example, from Kohl’s.^[10]

Not to be outdone by the vacuum cleaners are the retailers who all too quick to give you between 40 and 50 percent off major appliances, and that comes in the form of the likes of J.C. Penny (40 percent), Best Buy (40 percent), along with Lowes and Home Depot in that vicinity.^[11]

Some early Black Friday deals show that 2018 in November is going to again be more of the same with a focus on discounts on appliances, with Lowe’s showcasing 40 percent off and up to $600 in Lowe’s gift cards via rebates as you buy more than one appliance; they’re also offering specific deals of $75 off the Roomba vacuum (vacuums, again take center stage), along with a $200 off deal on a washer dryer pair from Roper.^[12]

Trying to pinpoint exactly what makes the most sense to buy in November is difficult for a number of reasons, mainly just due to wanting to fulfill the holiday list for everyone you have on it, and perhaps not planning accordingly.

Those who shop without a plan, list or some sort of idea what they’re going to buy, when they’ll buy it and those accompanying factors often tend to overspend.

Nearly 80 percent (roughly 8 out of 10) end up ignoring and destroying their holiday budget even when they attempt to have one, often spending as much as $215 more than they intended, and 43 percent say it’s more about self-imposed pressure to spend more than they have to appease those they’re buying for and not want to let anyone down on their “wish” list.^[13]

That sentiment is admirable to a point, and often can be achieved if you’re in the know about what you should be focusing on in November and on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales front, so you’re maximizing every dollar possible.

We’re about to embark on the crux of the holiday shopping season, and even though you’ll be tempted to blindly buy to suffice a certain list, you might want to reconsider the “buy everything in sight” mantra and make a play for bargains that won’t bottom out your budget this month.