Now that many stores are open on Thanksgiving Day, figuring out where and when to find the best holiday deals and sales for Black Friday 2014 can be complicated.
Are the best deals on holiday gifts for 2014 going to be on Thanksgiving or Black Friday?
Will better sales and discounts be offered online or in stores?
Will better deals be offered on Cyber Monday or during Cyber Week?
To answer these and other questions, we’ve partnered with the experts at BestBlackFriday.com to help shoppers get a better idea of what to expect for Black Friday 2014, as well as Cyber Monday 2014.
In a Q&A below with BestBlackFriday.com co-founder Eric Jones, he has shared insights with us on when and where the best deals will be starting during Black Friday week and extending into Cyber Monday/Cyber Week.
News for Shoppers: Some stores are already offering deals in early November. Can shoppers expect deeper discounts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday?
BestBlackFriday: Yes! We expect the deepest discounts in stores to be during doorbuster sales which will occur on Thanksgiving night or Black Friday morning. Expect multiple rounds of doorbusters for shoppers to enjoy. Online Black Friday deals should begin Tuesday or Wednesday of that week and also offer incredible savings.
We are already seeing evidence of this when we leaked the Dell Black Friday ad. There are many incredible deals, even an Xbox One Holiday Bundle that includes Assassin’s Creed: Unity & Black Flag for $329.99!
Sam’s Club seems to be the only store that might not have deeper discounts on Thanksgiving or Black Friday as they have released a holiday ad scan, which claims that it’s their lowest prices of the season. With an iPhone 6 for $99 with a 2-year contract and an iPad Air for $100 off, it seems plausible, but we are still holding out hope that they may surprise us.
With Black Friday creeping into Thanksgiving, when are the best deals to be found: Thursday or Friday?
BBF: We truly believe Thursday. Shoppers will be rewarded for cutting their turkey dinner short and venturing out into stores. We also think that Thanksgiving online deals will continue to increase this year as retailers push for more sales. We actually predict that total sales online for Thanksgiving will top the $1 Billion mark for the first time ever this year.
Will stores that aren’t open on Thanksgiving Day be offering deals online to compete?
BBF: We’ve been keeping track of all of the stores not open on Thanksgiving here, http://bestblackfriday.com/blog/retailers-not-opening-on-thanksgiving-2014/. While there aren’t too many stores that will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, we suspect the ones that are will certainly attempt to offer some sale online for Thanksgiving. The main reason the stores aren’t opening on Thanksgiving is because they want their employees and customers to be able to spend time with their families. I think they know that a customer can shop online for a few minutes on Thanksgiving and still get quality time with their loved ones.
Will stores that are open on Thanksgiving Day be offering the same deals online or will it be like Black Friday with some deals available only in stores?
BBF: It’ll be a mix of everything. Stores will have online only deals and in-store only deals and a large of amount of deals that can be found both online and at the store. Their ultimate goal is to get shoppers to make purchases both online and at the stores so they wind up making more purchases.
What are the hot Christmas items in electronics expected to be this year?
BBF: Without a doubt the hottest electronic items are the Xbox One and Playstation 4. We track these items specifically at http://bestblackfriday.com/hot/xbox-one and http://bestblackfriday.com/hot/playstation-4 and these two pages have literally been the most trafficked on our site so far!
Other top electronic items we expect are devices for streaming TV like Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku and E-readers like the Kindle.
What are the hot Christmas toys expected to be this year?
BBF: Everything Disney Frozen related! The Elsa doll is very popular and seems to be on every little girl’s wishlist. For the boys LEGOs! Interactive learning games for kids from LeapFrog seem highly sought after by parents and guardians too.
Any other predicted hot Christmas gifts for 2014?
BBF: The game Cards Against Humanity. We’ve been getting quite a few searches for that on our site and if you look at Amazon’s best sellers list for toys and games, it’s number one.
Which retailers do you predict offering the best 2014 Thanksgiving deals?
BBF: Walmart and Best Buy should have the best doorbusters Thanksgiving around dinner time and leading into the night.
Which retailers do you predict offering the best 2014 Black Friday deals?
BBF: Amazon and Target. Amazon started a countdown to Black Friday Deals Week already and usually lead into something special for Black Friday. Target is classifying their Black Friday sale as their Main Event on their website, so we’re hoping for something big.
Many of the Black Friday in-store only deals have limited quantities. Is it worth the hassle to actually go or would shoppers be better off staying at home and shopping online?
BBF: If it’s something that a shopper really wants, yes the in-store only doorbusters will certainly be worth it. We are actually predicting stores to have more quantities of special sales and even some guaranteed doorbusters. With that being said, if it’s not a must have, we’d recommend staying at home and finding something comparable online.
Have Black Friday store crowds lessened any with the popularity and rise in online shopping?
BBF: Yes and no. I read a report from ShopperTrak that said last year Black Friday foot traffic was down 11.4% from 2012 to 2013, but foot traffic for Thanksgiving and BlackFriday combined went up 2.8% from 2012 to 2013. So more people are beginning to do their in-store shopping on Thanksgiving as retailers push for openings.
What can we expect for Cyber Monday? Is it still relevant?
BBF: Yes, it’s still very relevant! That’s why we have a separate website dedicated just to for Cyber Monday and Cyber Week, BestCyberWeek.com! We’re expecting huge online deals and total online sales on Cyber Monday to be the biggest of the year reaching $2.5 billion. You can read our Cyber Monday and Cyber Week predictions here: http://bestcyberweek.com/predictions/cyber-monday-predictions-for-2014.
Just like retailers are pushing for earlier and earlier opening times for Black Friday, expect online stores to hold Cyber Monday sales all week long to further increase sales. For example, Sears has already announced their Cyber Week sales will be from November 30 until December 6.
What retailers are predicted to be offering the biggest Cyber Monday deals this year?
BBF: Amazon is always the king of Cyber Monday deals and will be again in 2014. We are also expecting big things from Newegg this year.
Shoppers can find additional Black Friday 2014 and Cyber Monday 2014/Cyber Week 2014 info including price trackers, Black Friday leaks and ad scans, coupons, deals, store hours, and more at BestBlackFriday.com and BestCyberWeek.com.
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