Consumers usually consider “Black Friday” as the best shopping day of the year, with many people already making lists and looking forward to purchasing their desired items at the best prices. However, a survey shows that about 41% of products will not offer significant discounts on this holiday. So, what are the most cost-effective products to buy during “Black Friday”?
Every year, “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” are the most popular shopping seasons in the United States, with major retailers offering a dizzying array of promotions.
According to the annual survey jointly released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and consumer data analysis company Prosper Insights Analytics, this year, the number of American shoppers visiting stores or shopping online from Thanksgiving weekend to Cyber Monday is expected to reach 183.4 million, setting a new record.
However, a new study by personal finance website WalletHub found that many products in 2024 are not actually offering real discounts, which may be one of the reasons why many consumers are planning to reduce their shopping expenses.
Analyst Chip Lupo from WalletHub said, “We found that approximately 41% of ‘Black Friday’ products do not offer consumers real discounts compared to regular prices. The average discount for items on sale is 24%, with the highest discount reaching up to 89%.”
The financial company explained in its survey report that to promote more sensible consumer behavior, they collected prices of various items in different categories on Amazon from October 21 to November 18, then collected the discounted prices of the same items from major retailers during “Black Friday,” comparing the pre-Black Friday prices and the promotional prices, and calculating the relative percentages.
The team mentioned that if the “Black Friday” price offered by retailers is lower than the price on Amazon.com, it is considered a good deal, while the vice versa indicates a less practical transaction.
By ranking the discount levels of each product, WalletHub evaluated the products with the best discounts for consumers during “Black Friday”: additional discounts for jewelry of 37%, clothing and accessories of 31%, consumer packaged goods of 28%, appliances of 27%, and furniture of 27%.
For example, the department store Belk may reduce prices of some luxury backpack brands by 50%; Costco offers a multi-functional robotic vacuum cleaner with a direct discount of 41.2%, saving consumers $420; retailer Best Buy sells a 75-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV originally priced at $1,078, with a savings of $228 (21.2% discount) on “Black Friday.”
Although “Black Friday” falls on November 29 this year, many retailers have already started early promotions.
While many consumers might think that waiting until the actual day of “Black Friday” to make purchases will result in the biggest discounts, the WalletHub team found that the discount levels on toys, consumer electronics, computers, and phones are not significantly different on the day of “Black Friday.”