iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — It’s the final countdown to the World Series of shopping, with retailers across the U.S. preparing for a deluge of deal hunters.
“The discounts are bigger,” said Mark Ellwood, Author of “Bargain Fever.” “If you’re not paying 50 percent off of your overcoats, you’re getting ripped off.”
Number crunchers say consumers are better off waiting until much later in the season for the biggest bargains on clothing but they say the best time to shop for TVs are Thanksgiving, Black Friday and beyond.
Take Kohl’s, which will offer 49-inch 4K TV for $249 plus $75 in gift cards with purchase as a doorbuster deal starting Thanksgiving. And Walmart is selling a 60-inch Samsung for nearly $580, more than $1,100 off.
When it comes to accessories, the Apple Watch will be discounted at Best Buy and Target. Also, some models of the Fitbit will be discounted on the company’s website.
Best Buy, Target and Walmart will all be offering up to $250 in gift cards with the purchase of the latest Samsungs and iPhone7s.
According to experts, the most discounted doorbuster deals will be going fast. But there’s good news! Consumers won’t have to leave their houses to score deals.
“We are seeing a trend towards stores closing on Thanksgiving for a simple reason: You can buy everything online,” Ellwood said. “Why bother paying for the staff to [staff] a store and ruin their Thanksgiving when any shopper can open up their laptop and say, ‘Hey, I get a deal right now.'”
Some stores are also offering exclusive deals on their own apps but experts caution that there could be fake apps online. The best way to avoid them, experts say, is to go directly through the retailer’s website.
If shoppers prefer to pound the pavement and grace brick-and-mortar stores with their presence, Ellwood strongly suggests checking prices online via their smartphones to see whether they beat what’s being offered on the sales floor.
“Black Friday isn’t a single day,” he said. “It is an entire month. It is every day until Christmas that you’ll find deals.”
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