Well today’s the day, Black Friday, the day when many normally, well mannered easy-going shoppers suddenly transform into Tasmanian devils, whirling about, in a frenzy of lightning-fast limited time offers and rapid reductions – designed to draw the public into a hurricane of hurry in for the best selection-type deals.
Pros and cons of Black Friday
Pro: Stores offer giveaways, usually for being one of the first in line. This year Cabela’s had offering $15,000 in prizes to the first 500 people in line at 5:00am on Black Friday.
Con: Sales are usually for a limited time and quantities are sometimes limited, too. with the majority of Black Friday ads saying things like “while supplies last”, or “limited quantity.” – that means you may not be able to find everything you want.
Pro: Its a great time to buy electronics; electronics are usually one of the top items in every Black Friday sale. There are usually multiple retailers offering the same items so be sure to compare costs.
Con: Be wary of promotions – studies found that 93% of Black Friday ads this year contain deals that have previously been offered by retailers. It also found many of the deals were available at other times of the year.
Pro: It can be fun; for many people, Black Friday is a tradition and shoppers enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
Con: There are crowds; millions of people use Black Friday as THE time to get most of their Christmas shopping done which sometimes means fights over the last item on the shelf and general Black Friday craziness.
What to expect this year?
BestBlackFriday.com predicts Black Friday sales will see a huge boost from on-line buyers this year.
Black Friday spending at brick and mortar stores is expected to be about $8.8 billion, which a drop of about 3% from last year.
Black Friday online spending is expected to be around $1.85 billion, up 23%.
And remember, when you shop locally, you keep much needed revenue in the county which translates to better roads, more money for education and an overall stronger economy.
(al.com/www.al.com/Information provided by BestBlackFriday.com and NerdWallet.com)