With Halloween behind us, attention will quickly turn to the impending holiday shopping season. Thanksgiving is just three and a half weeks away, and with some families celebrating gift exchanges at this time of year, we have to prepare early. It is important to identify who you are buying for, what they want and what products you can actually get your hands on. Whether it is electronics, toys, clothing or something else, knowing which retailers will be offering the best deals on this year’s most popular items is a must.
Clothing:
While clothing is not normally the focus of Black Friday shopping, you are still sure to find some great deals. However, if you want to score the best deals on clothing, then you should wait until Cyber Monday, where you can typically find clothing discounts of 30 to 50 percent off the original price. However, don’t take this as the end all be all. Retailers like Kohl’s offer fantastic early bird specials on clothing and throughout the store on Friday.
If you really want to score the best deals, be sure to capitalize on special shopping hours where stores are offering additional discounts or incentives. Kohl’s offered $15 in Kohl’s cash for every $50 you spent that you can use later to purchase additional items. Say you want to buy a Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand mixer, which was featured in the 2014 Kohl’s Black Friday ad for $100 off retail price at $349.99 with an additional $50 mail in rebate to bring the price to $299.99. For your original purchase of $349.99, you get $75 in Kohl’s Cash to come back. You can now buy all the sweaters, jeans or boots you’ve been keeping an eye on and use the $75 towards these items. By stacking rebates, discounts and Kohl’s cash, you are able to save a total of $225 instead of the $100 Black Friday discount you can find at many stores.
Electronics:
Best Buy serves as a go-to spot for electronics on Black Friday. Often times Best Buy will boast the best doorbusters and savings on electronics and not to mention that they also often have some of the longest campout lines for consumer wanting these deals. Buyers should beware of some of the less expensive door buster deals and focus their attention on deals of more reputable electronics companies. Look for the deals on brands like LG, Samsung, Sony or Vizio and avoid the brands you’ll see on major discount like RCA, Sanyo and Sceptre.
Apple will be and always has been a target for consumers looking to score Black Friday deals but real deals are hard to come by on Apple products. Instead, you should look for companies offering cash back or gift cards with a purchase of an Apple product. In its 2014 Black Friday ad, Best Buy was offering a minimum $100 gift card with new iPhone purchase and working iPhone trade in.
Toys:
Kmart is a known leader in the toy space. If you are shopping for toys this holiday season, be sure to check out the deals they will have to offer. Kmart offers a list of the “Fab 15” toys for the holiday season. The list is composed of toys for all ages that are sure to be a hit this holiday season. The toy list is available in both online and print versions, with the online version boasting over 700 toys from brands like Disney’s Frozen Star Wars, LEGO, Barbie and Nerf. Star Wars items are set to be one of the season’s hottest gifts for the season and with no doubt, the iconic light saber will be a must-have on many Christmas lists this year.
Kmart also suggests that app based or robotics toys will be huge this season, so if you’re looking for a perfect toy for that little techie in your life, these are the new “cool” toys that are app based or robotic. The toys include Hello Barbie, Master Yoda, Star Lilly, Smart Bear and View Master (which are both due out in November). Learn to use the force with the help of the Legendary Jedi Master Yoda, which speaks 115 phrases and has three distinct modes for teaching you how to become a Jedi: Warrior Mode, Force Mode and Wisdom Mode.
While we all know holiday shopping can be difficult, these tactics should help you score the best deals and get the most savings possible.
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How to Navigate Holiday Shopping at the Big Box Stores originally appeared on usnews.com
