What is Black Friday?

Black Friday refers to the day after Thanksgiving and is the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season in the United States. The day is highlighted by many retailers offering exceptional sales that entice customers to start their gift purchasing early.

The name “Black Friday” is commonly attributed to accounting origins. Throughout the year, stores tended not to see profits (in the red) until Black Friday when sales would spike and make a retailer’s year profitable (in the black).

Knowing how busy a shopping day Black Friday has become, many retailers open as early as 5 a.m. in some locations. This strategy equals a long day of shopping and allows the largest amount of customers to take advantage of deals.

Black Friday is not just for retailers, though. The day marks one of the best opportunities, if not the best chance for customers to save money on gifts they anticipate purchasing during the holiday season. However, for shoppers to maximize savings they must be well prepared.

Black Friday Ads

All sales are not created equally. Knowing what merchandise you plan on purchasing and what retailer will be offering the best discount on these items is essential.

Printed Circulars

The week leading up to Thanksgiving (especially the Wednesday before) is when stores release their Black Friday ads. Within these circulars is what you have been waiting for: deals!

Take note of all the information found in the fliers:

• What time each store opens: Most major retailers begin their Black Friday earlier than usual. Since the best discounts tend to be doorbusters, arriving at a store when it opens for business is often necessary. Check the flier to see if there is a special early bird opening.
• When a particular deal begins and ends and quantity of items: If deals were setup to last all day and supply was unlimited, there would be no draw for shoppers to show up first thing in the morning. Therefore, stores either keep deals for as long as stock is available on Black Friday, or they use blocks of time for a deal. Naturally, most merchandise has a limited stock and rain checks will not be given on the deals. In past years, camping outside stores or lining up hours in advance for limited products has become commonplace. Take note of limited quantities and try to understand how popular these products are. This information will help you gauge how early you will need to show up to a store in order to make the discounted purchase.
• Where the store is located: Knowing where a store is located sounds obvious, but when planning on shopping at multiple stores alternative locations can save much time. Finding a mall with the most stores you plan on visiting is optimal. Traffic is common in many areas on Black Friday as well as the added task of having to find a parking spot. Minimizing these will mean quicker access to stores and a shorter shopping day.

Digital Circulars

The Internet is a hotbed of information when it pertains to Black Friday. In recent years, printed circulars have been leaked onto third-party websites weeks in advance. This gives shoppers extra time for planning out their purchases. It also means competing retailers may add a deal or two themselves now in case the leaked sales were too competitive to what they were planning on offering.

While retailers will often not confirm the information posted on websites regarding the Black Friday sales items, they often do no deny them as well. Numerous websites provide this information in order to get consumers an early jump, including:

• http://www.blackfriday.info/
• http://bfads.net/
• http://www.theblackfriday.com/

Cyber Monday

With online shopping becoming more popular each holiday season, online retailers have decided to take part in a Black Friday of their own. Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is the unofficial start of the online shopping season and is when many digital storefronts offer deals of their own. Visit your favorite online retailer’s website to see if they are offering deals for this day.

Write out a Shopping List

Many deals may look appealing, but if you have no one to give the gift to then you must ask yourself if there is a reason to purchase the item. And while a sale might be 50% off, certain items still might be too expensive to give as gifts.

Understand your Budget

Shoppers have a tendency of maxing out credit cards and spending beyond their means when it comes to holiday shopping. You are already trying to avoid this since you are reading how to save money on Black Friday. Take your holiday shopping a step further and avoid post-holiday bills that will crunch your wallet in the following months with credit card interest rates.

Take a look at your finances and decide how much you can afford to spend. Knowing this and adhering to it will likely be added motivation for waking up early on Black Friday to take advantage of sales.

Decide Whom Is Receiving Gifts

If you are playing Santa, then you will need to know to whom you are giving gifts. Write out a list of these peoples’ names. Understanding how many people you plan on purchasing a gift for will put your budget into perspective

Plan Out Potential Gifts and Their Receivers

Deciding what to get someone as a gift can be determined by gift lifts or thoughtful recollections of what you think the person may appreciate. Flipping through the Black Friday ads may also help you get an idea of what you may want to give someone.

As you are going through the circulars, write down the product, price, and store next to the person’s name for whom you plan on getting the gift. When you are finished going through the ads you will be able to comparison shop between multiple stores and route out what retailers you should visit on Black Friday. This list will also help you gauge how well your budget is going to hold up against the potential gift costs.

On Black Friday, taking this list with you will be priceless. Use it to check off items after they have been purchased. Write in any other products you have purchased but may have not seen advertised originally.

Thanksgiving

A day to spend with family and friends, Thanksgiving can be a foundation for a good or bad Black Friday. If you needed any ideas or gift lists from relatives, this is a great chance to get your hands on them.

Help with Others

When speaking with friends and relatives, you also have the opportunity of talking with another Black Friday shopper. Find out what stores they plan on visiting. If there is a store that has an item you hoped to purchase but was out of your way, consider asking if anyone is going to that retailer. Offering to pick up a product for them at the stores you are going to will help save them a trip; likewise, if they purchase something for you at a store you did not plan on going to but had a great deal, this will free up some of your time and still save you money.

Be cautious of being a shopping partner for the day with someone else. Black Friday shopping is a fast paced day and shopping with a friend can work against you. While you are looking for deals in one store, your partner may have found their gift out of stock and be ready to move on to the next store. Conflicting schedules and energy levels can end up costing valuable time and money.

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

You have already mapped out what time the first store you are visiting opens. Now subtract travel time and the how long you will need to get ready in the morning. More than likely, you will be waking up early.

If you ate enough turkey, going to bed early will not be that hard a task. A good night’s rest will allow you to stay focused and energized throughout the day. Sleeping-in is a no-no on Black Friday. Each minute you sleep in will likely equate to money not saved.

Black Friday Shopping

The day has arrived! It is likely early in the morning, and you may have hit the snooze button despite the advice not to do so. Keep your morning routine to a minimum.

• Dress comfortably. You are going to be doing a lot of walking and comfortable shoes and clothing is a must. You do not want to stop your day of shopping due to blisters on your feet. If possible, take your winter coat with you if necessary, but leave it in the car before going into a store or mall. More than likely you will be taking it off after a few minutes of shopping and it will just be one more thing to carry around with you.
• Eat and drink healthy. This is not the morning to whip up a breakfast that runs the risk of upsetting your stomach. Keep you meal light and bring along a snack and bottle of water with you to the mall. While many stores won’t let you eat or drink inside of them, keeping yourself from having to stop and buy a drink/snack at the food court means one less line you will have to wait on. That drink/snack will come in handy because walking around so much will definitely require you to be well nourished, and more often than not lunchtime will sneak up on you before you know it.
• Remember the lists and ads. The last thing you want to forget is the list detailing the gifts you planned on purchasing and what stores had them on sale. To that point, remember to bring any coupons you cut out from the circulars.

While Shopping

Doing all the prep work to make Black Friday a success will be all for not if you slip up on a couple key things.

• Gift receipts: Remember to get individual gift receipts with all purchases. Duplicate gifts and wrong sizes are not something to feel guilty about. If a gift receiver has to ask for a receipt though and you cannot find one, the gift is only as good as the thought that went into it.
• Shopping carts: If you are in a store with a shopping cart or hand cart, never leave either unattended. Carts often end up in limited supply on a busy day and other shopers will be looking for abandoned ones throughout stores. To make matters worse, some people will continue their shopping from within you cart. When products are in demand and in limited supply, do not expect others to respect a temporarily abandoned cart that happens to contain that item. For the product will likely be gone before you realize it.
• Spirit of the season: Happiness, giving, and love... often are not found at stores on Black Friday. Everyone is focused and stressed to find the items they want to purchase. Long lines test the patience of these individuals as does finding a parking space. Crowded stores often equate to bumping into others as well. And if you did not leave you winter coat in the car as suggested, your body temperature will likely make you more irritable than you would like. Have patience, though. Stress will take years off your lifel and a car accident in the parking lot will make your holiday budget plummet.
• Socializing: You will likely run into people you know at the stores. Now is not the time to ask them a million questions about their Thanksgiving feast, or answer a million of their questions for that matter. Keep any encounters brief so both of you can continue with your bargain hunting.