Black Friday is still two weeks away, but retailers are already offering massive discounts in-store and online. So should you pounce on sales already available, or wait until Black Friday to start your holiday shopping? Kristin McGrath, an editor at RetailMeNot, told our Smart Shopper team, “It can’t hurt to get an early start.”
“With retailers getting an early start, it really does feel like a gamble to a lot of shoppers,” McGrath told our Smart Shopper team. “I would suggest looking now [to] research the items you understand what a good price is.”
McGrath suggested using websites like RetailMeNot and BlackFriday.com will help you find the best Black Friday deals already available, and take a sneak peek at upcoming sales.
For those concerned about getting the best bang for their buck, some retailers, like Target, are offering price protection. So if you buy an item and the price drops, Target will refund you the difference.
According to McGrath, retailers are already offering deals matching their Black Friday prices from last year. Big ticket items like televisions, she said, are up to $100 less than what she saw on Black Friday in 2021.
“If you are in the market for a new TV, now is the time to start looking,” McGrath said. “The chip shortage and supply chain issues that were just running amok last year are not as big of a deal this year. Retailers have more TVs in stock [and] consumers are tightening their belts because of the economy. And so anything that's a discretionary purchase, which TVs are, retailers need to really sweeten the deals this year.”
For those more interested in Black Friday shopping online, McGrath recommends using RetailMeNot’s browser extension, Deal Finder, to get the most up-to-date promo codes, and cashback offers.
“If you have to spend that money anyway, especially as the holidays and a lot of pressure to get gifts for people, then you just get a little bit of cash back in your pocket,” McGrath said. “I think cashback shopping, it's a really smart move.”
OUR SMART SHOPPER BLACK FRIDAY PICKS
COSTCO
Costco started offering early Black Friday sales on October 31. The company’s Holiday Savings shows the followingbreakdown of sales dates:
- October 31 - November 13, 2022 (online and warehouse savings)
- November 14-28, 2022 (early Black Friday savings)
- November 24, 2022 (online-only savings)
- November 25-28, 2022 (Black Friday weekend savings)
HOME DEPOT
Home Depot’s Black Friday savings event started November 3 and runs to November 30, 2022. Savings arein-store and online, while supplies last.
LOWE’S
Lowe’s isn’t limiting Black Friday to November 25; It’s calling November “Black Friday Month.” According to BlackFriday.com, Lowe’s Early Black Friday sales will be updated each week of November.
WALMART
Walmart’s first round of “Black Friday Deals for Days 2022” launched on November 7, and runs until November 13. But savings continue all month long, culminating on Cyber Monday (Monday, November 28, 2022).
- Walmart Event 1: November 7 - November 13, 2022
- Walmart Event 2: November 14 - November 20, 2022
- Walmart Event 3: November 21 - November 27, 2022
- Cyber Monday: November 28, 2022