As more shoppers are looking for ways to avoid the Black Friday madness, experts are now saying that Cyber Monday may be the better time to look for holiday deals. While nothing can compare to the craziness and utter excitement of after-Thanksgiving sales, Cyber Monday has become the next best option for buyers who want to save a little money during the holidays. Yet, not every product may be worth the price of waiting a couple of days after Black Friday.
Black Friday Or Cyber Monday?
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For the past few years, Cyber Monday has gone on to replace Black Friday as the biggest shopping day event of the year. Part of it has to do with the ease of ordering products online rather than driving to the store and having to wait in line for hours to pick up a new television. Ted Donath, Vice President of Communications for the coupon-and-discount-shopping browser extension Honey, compared the two biggest shopping days of last year. “When comparing the two days last year, we noticed more savings on Cyber Monday,” said Donath. Honey’s research has found that last year’s Cyber Monday average savings peaked at 21%.”
According to Business Insider, different products receive deals throughout the two days. While this makes for quite a headache, it does makes sense considering the increasing amount of time spent on surfing through the internet from consumers. Amazon, for instance, was one of the big winners of last year, with consumers spending approximately $7.9 million during Cyber Monday. Bloomberg’s Intelligence analysts Bartashus and Poonam Goyal stated while spending at physical stores was high, “online shopping likely distracted from in-store visits.”
In many ways, shopping during both Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become a game of consumer’s chest. Some of the best deals could be in physical stores such as Walmart, Target, GameStop, etc. However, once they are picked up from consumers, within a matter of minutes, they could vanish. Online sites such as Amazon may be the consumer’s only hope.
Luckily, there are a few rules of thumb in which the busy consumer could use to get ahead of the game.
Shop Black Friday for Expensive Products products; shop Cyber Monday for gadgets.
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According to Business Insider, items that are frequently bought once a year will probably be a better get during Black Friday. Meanwhile, anything gift related would be better to get during Cyber Monday.
Steve Koenig, Vice President of Research at the Consumer Technology Association, called items such as T.V.’s, laptops, and game consoles “big-ticket items,” which the consumer should purchase during Black Friday. Big-ticket items are those in which the consumer is buying for themselves or their households. Although it’s not impossible to find these items on sale during Cyber Monday, “there’s more of a focus on other types of electronics that are newer niche,” said Vivek Pandya, manager of Adobe Analytics.
Last year saw televisions and computers to be the most discounted items sold during Black Friday. Cyber Monday’s top sellers included laptops, Echo devices, and drones.
Shop Black Friday for this year’s products; shop Cyber Monday for older generations.
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Video game fans can relate to this rule very well. Video game companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo produce their newest consoles within a few years after their previous products hit shelves. Because of this, some video game fans choose to wait a year before deciding to purchase the next PlayStation or X-Box. With the PlayStation 5 rumored to release next fall, one can bet that the PlayStation 4 will sell at a lower price during this year’s holiday season. Websites such as GameStop and Best Buy could even include an extra game with the purchase of these consoles.
Shop Black Friday for major stores; shop Cyber Monday for secondhand buys.
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According to Janet Alvarez, executive editor of the personal-finance publication Wise Bread, large retail stores such as Walmart and Best buy “tend to offer the best deals on Black Friday.” Interestingly, retail stores are still hoping consumers pick up on can’t miss electronic deals. Meanwhile, Amazon is hoping to attract consumers with their Amazon Prime programs, which awards members with better deals.
Shop Black Friday if you plan to visit a store.
Yeah, this is a no-brainier. Considering how long the lines are and how ruthless other people can sometimes get when trying to purchase a brand new T.V., it’s probably best to plan. Unless you’re the type of person who loves spending money with and around a lot of people, then Cyber Monday is your best option.