Smartphones – The recently released iPhone 6S should still be available for the same price. Apple is notoriously popular for not hosting Black Friday sales or offering so insignificant discounts that do not qualify for mentioning it. However, shoppers will be able to grab deals on previous generations iPhones here, and one or even few bundle deals at the Microsoft store.
- Read more: 10 Best Smartphones of 2015
Toys and Games – For your 8-12 year old, how about a LEGO Minecraft Creative Adventures Crafting Box for $39.99? Perhaps they can build a noise-cancelling device to counter your teenager’s Guitar Hero Live, expected to be available for $89.99.
Retailers – Which stores are expected to offer the best Black Friday deals? At BestBuy.com expected average discount on Black Friday deals is 35-40%, topping the expected 30-35% average of Microsoftstore.com and 25-30% of Amazon. However, JCPenney is expected to be the highest at an average Black Friday discount near 60%.
Overall Spending – Black Friday spending is actually predicted to drop as Thanksgiving spending picks up the slack and then some. In 2015, Thanksgiving spending is expected to rise from $3.19 billion to $3.79 billion.
Online spending will take a much bigger share. Black Friday online spending is expected to rise almost 23% to $1.85 billion and Thanksgiving online spending will rise over 48% to $1.5 billion. Perhaps people are finding better deals online, or they could just be getting tired of camping out by big box stores in order to engage in hand-to-hand combat with rival shoppers.
This year, Black Friday falls on November 27th. That may seem far away, but it will be here before you know it. Start your planning now, and follow the Black Friday page on Facebook to keep up on sale developments and other pertinent info.
We end with a word of caution — don’t get so caught up in Black Friday planning that you forget about your gift budget. Going into Black Friday with deal and shopping preparations but without goals and budgets is like doing your grocery shopping when you haven’t eaten for two days straight. Impulse buying will take over. It will not go well for your wallet, and your stomach will ache when you total up the bill.
