Looking for the best Black Friday deals? No need to wait until Thanksgiving week anymore! This year, the deals will start when November begins.
‘Black Friday’ as a term in marketing will become something that denotes the whole month, not the Friday after Thanksgiving anymore! In fact, many retailers may not even be open on Thanksgiving.
The upside to this new way is that the deals will not be concentrated in a 48-hour period of do-or-die shopping that has sometimes ended in trampling in the past. That’s better for you and better for retailers!
Just like last year, free shipping will be key this season. Online sales still only account for about 10% of what goes on in retail. But that’s enough to put the hurt on boutique retailers who can’t provide free shipping as easily as the big guys.
Read more: 15 ways to cut your grocery spending in half
Black Friday month price point predictions
As far as price point, here are my predictions for 2015. These predictions are not brand specific, and will almost always be off-brands!
Because there are no real breakthrough products on the electronic side this year, the prices on the old standbys are going down. As always, my favorite place to look for deals and know if it’s a deal or not is at DealNews.com!
The cellphone deals that were so huge last year at Thanksgiving time will not be around this year. That’s because the industry is moving away from 2-year contracts to where you have to buy your own phone at a real price. You’ll see some deals, but even on sale, the premium phones everybody wants will be $499 or more.
Read more: Online Shopping Guide: How to get the best price possible
Hot toy competition coming
This year will be very ‘promotional,’ as retailers like to say, in the toy aisle; perhaps the most promotional Christmas season since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.
What’s driving the competition? Four factors: Toys R Us, Amazon, Walmart, and Target.
Toys R Us has been the longtime heavyweight in toys, but they’re looking for a reason to survive and exist after having been pigeonholed as a hyper-expensive place to shop. So expect them to do steep markdowns and offer very aggressive pricing this coming holiday season.
The reality is Target and Walmart have become the new champs of lower cost toy selling. They both tend to expand the square footage they have devoted to toys during the season. Amazon, meanwhile, wants in on this game. So Toys R Us is facing some tough competition this year.
Clothing will be extra cheap too. That’s because people aren’t as focused on fashion as they used to be; they’re more into experiences like restaurants or travel.
Read more: 13 things you should never pay for
Want more money-saving advice? See our Deals section.
