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Before the turkeys even cold, it happens—Black Friday. Just 24 hours before, families are giving thanks for their loved ones, serving up rich, home-cooked meals and overstuffing their bellies with everything from decadent sweet potato casserole to the last slice of pumpkin pie. Then, the Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde switch flips, and families quickly disperse into the materialistic madness that kicks off the holiday shopping season. Mothers who 24-hours before were carving the Thanksgiving turkey are trampling shoppers-turned-competitors to fit through the sliding Wal-Mart doors, fathers abandon their posts at the head of the table to camp out for hours in front of Best Buy and the 'thankful' family that existed on family deteriorates into the mess of Black Friday madness.
But it doesn't have t be that way.
Black Friday is the first shopping day of the holiday season, always falling the day after Thanksgiving. It tends to be the biggest shopping day of the year, with 2013's Black Friday raking in more than $57.4 billion dollars for retailers according to the National Retail Federation. And while the massive buying free-for-all's that color the evening news—workers getting trampled at Wal-Mart, mothers abandoning their kids in the cars to score a cheap TV—shoppers can still score big savings on Black Friday without the headache of mile-long lines and mall shoppers turned mob participants.
So what's the silver lining in this dark Black Friday cloud? Check out these tips, and learn how to navigate Black Friday like a pro in no time.
1. Do Your Homework
Black Friday is a big deal, people—huge! Stores spend months in advance preparing for this lucrative shopping day, and the deals are laid out well in advance. While many stores choose not to release they're promotions until hours before or even the day of, larger retailers tend to announce their slew of promotions beginning in the first week of November.
"My family always goes to Wal-Mart, because they have the biggest deals every year," Antonia Freund, a freshman at Pepperdine University and yearly Black Friday shopper, said. "They have al the bargain-bins and door-busters announced well in advance, but when you get there they always do surprise flash-deals as well. My family reads the Wal-Mart ads before we go down there on Black Friday, but I also read the advertisements for other big stores too: Target, Macy's Dillard's, Best Buy."
Insider tip? Sign up for stores' email lists to hear about the deals first.
2. Pick Your Battles
There's a time to wait in line for massively marked down goods, and then there's a time to settle for slightly more expensive prices and preserve one's sanity.
"I've seen people wait in line for hours, but personally I have a 20-30 minute rule," Freund explained. "If the deals are really good, and you've got a lot items you know you need for the holiday season in your basket, then maybe you can justify a 45-minute wait. Otherwise, just move on to the next store."
3. All About the Timing
In simpler times, Black Friday started on, well, Friday. Today, many Black Friday deals start on Thanksgiving day, and last throughout the week.
"Going midafternoon is probably you're best bet on Black Friday if you want to skip most of the crowds and still get goof deals," Jordan Shaner, a sales associate at J. Crew in Malibu said. While Black Fridays at J. Crew tend to be tamer according to Shaner, she's experienced the rush of crowds working retail at other stores.
"I worked the midnight to 4 a.m. shift at Levi's and it was crazy," she said. "The deals were better earlier and there was also more merchandise for customers to shop through, so way more people came. It was awful though. Customers are so rude, the lines are outrageous, you can hardly walk and the sales associates are still tired from Thanksgiving the day before."
The lesson here: While shopping in the afternoon may yield less abundant merchandise and deals, shoppers can still score discounts—and skip the crowds.
4. Tell me what you want, what you really really want
The golden rule of shopping: Go into a store with purpose. Make you holiday shopping list early, pick out what you'll buy (and more importantly what you won't), and shop with the end in mind.
"Shoppers generally spend more money on items they don't necessarily need when they go in 'just to look around," Shaner said.
5. What not to buy
"Certain things just never go on sale—watches, expensive designer items, newly-released technology like an iPhone 6," Justin Ago, a sales associate at Nordstrom's and menswear specialist, said. If you're going to buy these kinds of items, just wait until Black Friday is over. Chance's are they'll still be there, and you won't have to deal with giant crowds in order to pay for them."
As for what to buy on Black Friday? Electronics, toys, accessories and clothing tend to be marked down most, so take advantage of the discounts!
6. David and Goliath effect
There are two types of retailers in the Black Friday world—the mega-retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, and the smaller stores like Bath & Body Works, Express and Nike. Aside from size, the main difference is that the larger retailers offer a wide array of products, while the smaller retailers offer more specialized, quality merchandise.
While many different types of stores participate in Black Friday, it's the large retailers who offer the biggest savings on the widest range of products. Take note when making your Black Friday game plan, and be sure to check smaller retailer's websites 24-hours before Black Friday begins for updated deals.
"Working Black Friday at a small boutique is an entirely different experience," Allison Slattery, a past employee of Enchantments boutique in Naperville, Illinois, said. "Sure you get big deals with bigger companies, and small boutiques can't compete with that. But shopping boutiques, you'll usually find more quality and unique items. Plus, it's supporting local business."
7. Hey, Big Spender
The average Black Friday shopper will spend $380.95 this year—down a slight six-and-a-half percent from last year's $407.02 per customer. To put it into perspective, the NRF estimates the average consumers will spend $459.87 on gifts for family during the holiday season in 2014, and $80 on gifts for friends.
Clearly, Black Friday shoppers are ready to get their holiday shopping over with, and fast. Whether you're planning on knocking out your entire shopping list, or just snagging a few discounted goods, set a budget for yourself that you won't allow yourself to cross.
8. Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday
Why fight the Black Friday hoards when you can stay in bed, keep you pajamas on and score the same deals? That's what 126 million Americans planned to do on Cyber Monday, according to NRF. Begun as a spin-off to in-store Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday offers shoppers big deals only online, and often times free shipping guaranteed before Christmas day.
"I think Cyber Monday definitely might overtake Black Friday," Slattery said. "There are still people who do Black Friday for the adrenaline rush, and that's fine. But the chance to get all of your shopping done for the holidays without leaving your house? Who's going to turn that down?"
And it seems like many shoppers are already on to the trend, with NRF estimating 44 percent of consumers will do their holiday shopping online.
But it doesn't have t be that way.
Black Friday is the first shopping day of the holiday season, always falling the day after Thanksgiving. It tends to be the biggest shopping day of the year, with 2013's Black Friday raking in more than $57.4 billion dollars for retailers according to the National Retail Federation. And while the massive buying free-for-all's that color the evening news—workers getting trampled at Wal-Mart, mothers abandoning their kids in the cars to score a cheap TV—shoppers can still score big savings on Black Friday without the headache of mile-long lines and mall shoppers turned mob participants.
So what's the silver lining in this dark Black Friday cloud? Check out these tips, and learn how to navigate Black Friday like a pro in no time.
1. Do Your Homework
Black Friday is a big deal, people—huge! Stores spend months in advance preparing for this lucrative shopping day, and the deals are laid out well in advance. While many stores choose not to release they're promotions until hours before or even the day of, larger retailers tend to announce their slew of promotions beginning in the first week of November.
"My family always goes to Wal-Mart, because they have the biggest deals every year," Antonia Freund, a freshman at Pepperdine University and yearly Black Friday shopper, said. "They have al the bargain-bins and door-busters announced well in advance, but when you get there they always do surprise flash-deals as well. My family reads the Wal-Mart ads before we go down there on Black Friday, but I also read the advertisements for other big stores too: Target, Macy's Dillard's, Best Buy."
Insider tip? Sign up for stores' email lists to hear about the deals first.
2. Pick Your Battles
There's a time to wait in line for massively marked down goods, and then there's a time to settle for slightly more expensive prices and preserve one's sanity.
"I've seen people wait in line for hours, but personally I have a 20-30 minute rule," Freund explained. "If the deals are really good, and you've got a lot items you know you need for the holiday season in your basket, then maybe you can justify a 45-minute wait. Otherwise, just move on to the next store."
3. All About the Timing
In simpler times, Black Friday started on, well, Friday. Today, many Black Friday deals start on Thanksgiving day, and last throughout the week.
"Going midafternoon is probably you're best bet on Black Friday if you want to skip most of the crowds and still get goof deals," Jordan Shaner, a sales associate at J. Crew in Malibu said. While Black Fridays at J. Crew tend to be tamer according to Shaner, she's experienced the rush of crowds working retail at other stores.
"I worked the midnight to 4 a.m. shift at Levi's and it was crazy," she said. "The deals were better earlier and there was also more merchandise for customers to shop through, so way more people came. It was awful though. Customers are so rude, the lines are outrageous, you can hardly walk and the sales associates are still tired from Thanksgiving the day before."
The lesson here: While shopping in the afternoon may yield less abundant merchandise and deals, shoppers can still score discounts—and skip the crowds.
4. Tell me what you want, what you really really want
The golden rule of shopping: Go into a store with purpose. Make you holiday shopping list early, pick out what you'll buy (and more importantly what you won't), and shop with the end in mind.
"Shoppers generally spend more money on items they don't necessarily need when they go in 'just to look around," Shaner said.
5. What not to buy
"Certain things just never go on sale—watches, expensive designer items, newly-released technology like an iPhone 6," Justin Ago, a sales associate at Nordstrom's and menswear specialist, said. If you're going to buy these kinds of items, just wait until Black Friday is over. Chance's are they'll still be there, and you won't have to deal with giant crowds in order to pay for them."
As for what to buy on Black Friday? Electronics, toys, accessories and clothing tend to be marked down most, so take advantage of the discounts!
6. David and Goliath effect
There are two types of retailers in the Black Friday world—the mega-retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, and the smaller stores like Bath & Body Works, Express and Nike. Aside from size, the main difference is that the larger retailers offer a wide array of products, while the smaller retailers offer more specialized, quality merchandise.
While many different types of stores participate in Black Friday, it's the large retailers who offer the biggest savings on the widest range of products. Take note when making your Black Friday game plan, and be sure to check smaller retailer's websites 24-hours before Black Friday begins for updated deals.
"Working Black Friday at a small boutique is an entirely different experience," Allison Slattery, a past employee of Enchantments boutique in Naperville, Illinois, said. "Sure you get big deals with bigger companies, and small boutiques can't compete with that. But shopping boutiques, you'll usually find more quality and unique items. Plus, it's supporting local business."
7. Hey, Big Spender
The average Black Friday shopper will spend $380.95 this year—down a slight six-and-a-half percent from last year's $407.02 per customer. To put it into perspective, the NRF estimates the average consumers will spend $459.87 on gifts for family during the holiday season in 2014, and $80 on gifts for friends.
Clearly, Black Friday shoppers are ready to get their holiday shopping over with, and fast. Whether you're planning on knocking out your entire shopping list, or just snagging a few discounted goods, set a budget for yourself that you won't allow yourself to cross.
8. Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday
Why fight the Black Friday hoards when you can stay in bed, keep you pajamas on and score the same deals? That's what 126 million Americans planned to do on Cyber Monday, according to NRF. Begun as a spin-off to in-store Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday offers shoppers big deals only online, and often times free shipping guaranteed before Christmas day.
"I think Cyber Monday definitely might overtake Black Friday," Slattery said. "There are still people who do Black Friday for the adrenaline rush, and that's fine. But the chance to get all of your shopping done for the holidays without leaving your house? Who's going to turn that down?"
And it seems like many shoppers are already on to the trend, with NRF estimating 44 percent of consumers will do their holiday shopping online.