Where to Find the Best Black Friday Deals Now

If there’s one mantra that most holiday shoppers abide by it’s that it is never too early to start shopping.

Most assume that the official kickoff to the holiday season, shopping wise, occurs on Black Friday, the much famed day of the week in November that falls on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.

This date is filled with deals galore on most anything you an imagine, although some deals are better than others. What can’t be argued is Black Friday is the Super Bowl of retail, the day when consumers buy at discounted prices and retailers are ready to finish out their sales for the fourth quarter of the year strong.

The Black Friday numbers last year were extremely strong, both online and in store, along with what you’d call the retail weekend and then some (the five day period of time between Thanksgiving, which has sales starting on that day through Cyber Monday).

Americans dished out nearly 20 billion dollars online during that five-day span, 15 percent more than last year; Black Friday reigned supreme as far as in-store shopping with 77 million shoppers with five billion dollars spent online, up 17 percent versus last year and about $135 per order on online orders.^[1]

It’s worth noting, too, that Black Friday isn’t gaining ground as far as in-store sales (that number is roughly the same, down just a bit actually, from 2016 to 2017). But Black Friday is running roughshod over the online sales, as that forum of purchasing is growing more so for the day after Thanksgiving holiday.

Black Friday still is the most popular in-store holiday shopping day of the year, but online sales are up.

As mentioned, the 2017 version of Black Friday online hit five billion dollars, and that was in a 24 hour time period, with an astonishing 200,000 toys sold in just five hours, per Amazon, just as one example of the buying power associated with Black Friday.^[2]

Consider Black Friday as the launching pad for the holiday shopping, but also the impact of the entire five-day span previously mentioned, with 10 percent growth online shopping, Cyber Monday (2017) as the largest shopping day in history with more than six billion, up one billion over last year, and up nearly 30 percent on online shopping for Thanksgiving Day purchases, backed by online traffic for Walmart and Amazon being up nearly 2 percent as the leaders from a retail perspective.^[3]

The unbridled enthusiasm and success that is Black Friday, and shopping that entire weekend, only proves just how powerful this sales force has become, and how much consumers plan their holiday shopping around those days in order to save the most money on the items they want.

Those same consumers have convinced themselves buying for the holidays begins on Thanksgiving Day, but if retailers have shown anything in recent years and subsequent sales that holiday shopping starts earlier and earlier each year, and they’re reacting accordingly.

Retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, Best Buy, Target and others of that ilk, along with the JC Penney, Macy’s and Kohl’s (from the clothing retail side), are quick to start offering Black Friday like deals ahead of schedule, often touting them as pre-Black Friday sales.

This allows them to use the name value of Black Friday but give consumers the option of buying in store and online ahead of the mass hysteria that is Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.

This isn’t to suggest that retailers are going to mortgage the weeks prior to Black Friday out or forget about deals that coincide with Black Friday and the weekend after, but rather appealing to a segment of the population that likes to have their shopping done that much earlier.

Statistics show that the popularity of Black Friday shopping is waning in recent years, with last year’s interest in shopping on that holiday dropping to below 40 percent (35 percent) versus 51 percent last year (2016) and 59 percent in 2015.^[4]

That could translate into a lot of things or explanations.

Maybe Black Friday is losing luster due to the hustle and bustle of the day itself. Perhaps consumers aren’t as interested in door busters with limited supplies. Maybe it’s about getting the shopping done early, cashing in on pre-Black Friday deals and leaving Thanksgiving and the day after for eating and digesting.

Speaking of digesting, why not soak in a few of these deals if you’re one of many who aren’t going to shop till you drop on Black Friday:

Sam’s Club: Video games are hugely popular on Black Friday, along with this weekend

Scan any statistic or sales figure about what are some of the more popular items on sale for Black Friday, and video games, consoles and bundles often easily find their way to the top of any shopping list.

The consoles and bundles are especially exciting for gamers, parents and kids alike, since the price breaks are considerable.

Often times, video games and consoles or bundle deals can be as much as 45 percent off leading up to and on Black Friday.^[5]

That has prompted Sam’s Club from to deliver more than just adequate sales for this coming weekend: it’s a one day sales on November 10, 2018, either online or in the store directly.

Two promotions stand tall for this coming weekend: PlayStation 4 Slim 500 GB for $40 less than it’s original price, marked down now to $229, alongside the Xbox One S 1TB bundles, 3 months of Game Pass and two games: Call of Duty Black Ops 4, Destiny for only $300.^[6]

Don’t forget that this weekend Sam’s Club also has deals on TV’s, Apple products and other tech items as part of their sale, with TV’s as low as $179 and up to $150 off Apple products, including the iPad.

Wal-Mart: Not surprisingly the leader in retail sales is already on board for savings

Wal-Mart and Amazon typically run a neck-in-neck race when it comes to battling for Black Friday and subsequent holiday-related sales one year after the next.

Wal-Mart is always getting out in front of the sales pitch that is Black Friday and is delivering deals already.

Most agree that Black Friday is centered on technology, heavily, when it comes to what’s discounted. The aforementioned video game price drops also are followed closely by TVs, Apple products, headphones, speakers and others of that ilk.

Wal-Mart’s TV section is especially heavy on deals before Black Friday, comparable to what you’d see the day after Thanksgiving.

They’re offering a 43-inch Vizio Smart TV for $198, a 32-inch Sceptre TV for $90, and a 55 inch Samsung 4K TV for $998, down 33 percent.^[7]

That same report shows that the Apple iPad Mini, courtesy of Wal-Mart, is $125 off the iPad Mini 4, a 30 percent drop in price, and such a strong deal that Wal-Mart might have trouble keeping them in stock, along with the Dell Inspiron 11.6 2 in 1 laptop, tablet hybrid for 24 percent off retail at $229 and laptop on sale this weekend for under $200.

Amazon: Online giant is making shopping early that much easier, too

Amazon, just on Black Friday alone in 2017, made 1 billion dollars in a 24-hour time period, and dominated the marketplace online on that shopping day to the tune of between 40 and 50 percent of all online sales.^[8]

That impressive number is backed by customer service second to none but also a penchant to act quickly, and 2018 isn’t any different with pre-Black Friday sales that are hard to pass on, no matter how much you look forward to Black Friday shopping.

Amazon’s Alexa products take specific center stage for pre-Black Friday shopping, with deals on a multitude of products.

The TP-Link HS100 is 58 percent off retail at $16.99 at this moment; the HS100 turns an outlet into a smart device; the ecobee4 Smart Thermostat with Alexa service built in is 16 percent off right now with a markdown to $209, a price tag that is eye-popping even if it isn’t happening on Black Friday.^[9]

Target: Weekend is where most people shop, even before Black Friday

Target is taking the holiday buying statistics literally, and that’s why they’re apt to offer sales this weekend due to twice as many shoppers buying on the weekend versus a weekday.

This thought process is rather simple: Target knows that the weekends are for buying, no matter if it’s Black Friday weekend or not.

That’s why Target is offering 25 percent off home decor this weekend, and that includes anything from furniture to rugs and everything in between.^[10]

Target also is quick to point out that the 25 percent discount on home decor is whether you’re shopping online or in store, and that Target is going to be releasing Black Friday sales soon, too.

Black Friday, as the numbers would suggest, isn’t going anywhere, any time soon.

What is happening is a culturally shift to more online orders, and that’s a given, but also retailers recognizing that Black Friday is plentiful and lucrative, but offering the opportunity to buy your gifts for the holidays ahead of schedule also resonates with consumers, too.

For retailers, you can’t argue with the idea that you’d want to appeal to those who aren’t procrastinating and might believe strongly that they’ll get comparable deals this weekend that would rival that of playing the waiting, guessing and waiting some more game that Black Friday, Thanksgiving Day and weekend holiday shopping can include.

Often times, too, Black Friday or Thanksgiving shopping is predicated on not only early morning shoppers (if that truly appeals to you) in addition to “doorbuster” deals that often are exciting and incentive to wake up and go, but often times they’re only literally a handful of items that fall under that category.

Customers might see a laptop or tablet for under $100 but the retailer in store only has about three or four of them, using that price point as a means to get you in the door, and that’s it.

That frustration abounds, and those consumers who are ready to get started now won’t be disappointed with the aforementioned promotions and deals that put Black Friday sales and deals on notice that they’re still a part of the holiday shopping, just not the leadoff hitter anymore.