PHOENIX — With major retailers starting Black Friday deals early in 2022, the Smart Shopper team decided to ask experts when they believed it was best to get a jump start on shopping while still maximizing savings.
According to Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews, good deals can pop up at any time this holiday season. But starting on Thanksgiving, big savings at major retailers will kick in.
“We aren't facing the same supply chain disruptions that we were last year,” Ramhold said. “We're not facing the same shipping delays that we were last year. So, there's definitely potential for this to be a much better year especially compared to the last two.”
Shoppers looking for popular or big-ticket items should start looking at prices and discounts early, Ramhold said.
“The best thing you can do at this point is make a list of items that you want to buy, as well as the discount that you kind of hope they'll hit and then start watching for the deals,” Ramhold said.
In years past, Thanksgiving has historically been a good day to start watching for steep discounts, according to Ramhold.
“For the last several years, we've seen more deals on Thanksgiving in general and also better-quality deals in a lot of cases,” she said.
Big box retailers will also start promoting Cyber Monday deals early this year. To keep track of all the sales going on, Ramhold suggested signing up for newsletters and loyalty programs. When the holiday season is over, you can unsubscribe from email newsletters to keep from clogging your inbox.
“It's a good idea to sign up for those and follow them so that you can jump on the sales when they launch, get what you want and not have to worry about items selling out,” Ramhold said.
Shopping for clothing, cosmetics or kitchen items? Ramhold suggests waiting to purchase those items until Cyber Monday.
“With clothing, we're expecting, you know, discounts up to 80% off depending on where you're shopping. Shoes, we're expecting up to 70% off for beauty items up to 60% off or more,” she said.
It all depends on where you shop, Ramhold noted. But for the remainder of 2022, retail holidays will offer big items with even bigger discounts.