With last year’s Black Friday sales drawing 76.2 million Americans to shop in person and 90.6 million to shop online, the personal-finance website WalletHubtoday released its report on the Best Places to Shop on Black Friday in 2024 to help consumers maximize their savings.
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Best places to shop on Black Friday (average discount)
1. JCPenney (76.20%)
2. Belk (72.68%)
3. Macy’s (57.13%)
4. Kohl’s (43.55%)
5. Walmart (37.75%)
6. The Home Depot (32.43%)
7. Amazon (32.05%)
8. BJ’s (28.86%)
9. Target (28.65%)
10. Best Buy (28.43%)
Key Stats
- JCPenney has the highest overall discount rate, at 76.20%, whereas Costco has the lowest at 18.27%.
- The overall average discount for Black Friday is 38%. Consumers should aim for this discount amount or higher to avoid Black Friday traps.
- The “Computers & Phones” category has one of the biggest shares of discounted items, 29.32% of all offers, whereas the “Consumer Packaged Goods” category has the smallest at 2.43%.
“I suggest looking at prices now so you start to get a benchmark,” said Chad O’Connor, faculty in marketing at Northeastern University. “Use comparison shopping like Google Shopping and have browser extensions such as Rakuten that can give extra cash back and note that an item may be priced cheaper somewhere else in its network of stores it is indexing. Sometimes an item is a loss leader where the retailer is listing the item at a steep discount to get attention, but then will try to trap you with big fees on shipping that you won’t see until you’re at the final checkout. Remind yourself it’s okay to abandon things at the online checkout if the fee feels too steep. Similarly, watch out for overpriced accessories related to the main product you are buying. For instance, you’ll be giddy if you’re saving hundreds on a TV, but then will be paying too much when you decide to add on a soundbar.”
To view the full report and each retailer’s rank in all product categories, visit https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-retailers-for-black-friday/8385/