Why Black Friday Does Not Matter; Things Not to Buy - Electronics, Toys, Jewelry

By Komfie Manalo
Black Friday 2015
Black Friday is being replaced by Black November Black Friday

Black Friday is coming on Nov. 27 after Thanksgiving, but these early retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy have already launched their Black Friday promos immediately after Halloween.

This means consumers should expect a month-long bargains and discounts, with some analysts calling the retail holiday event as the Black November, said Fox News.

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, which focuses on analyzing retail sales told Fox News, "It isn't Black Friday. It isn't even Black Friday weekend or Black Friday week anymore. This year it's the whole month. It's going to be Black November."

With the month-long sales, consumers do not have to set their alarm at 5 a.m. to form a beeline for that huge discount.

Industry observers have been noticing the "graying of Black Friday," as the number of days the annual sales is offered are expanded. They noticed that most retailers are starting to offer "door-buster" discounts starting November 1 and even on Thanksgiving Day and leading to the Black Friday.

A study Nielsen showed that consumers start their holiday shopping in September and offering an early holiday discount, more so a month-long discounted sale, is welcomed by U.S. consumers. The study has concluded that that nearly 60% of American consumers have done their Christmas shopping by Halloween.

"Consumers don't need to seek the deals out on Black Friday the way they did during past holiday seasons," Cohen said. "The deals come to them early and often."

Online shopping also contributes to the diminishing "significance" of Black Friday. An estimated two-thirds of American consumers do their holiday online, up by 12 percent from 2014. Online retailers are known to offer the same discounts found during Black Friday, so there is no need to wait until that day to buy heavily-discounted flat TV screens.

What Not to Buy on Black Friday

Here's another tip to consumers. Buying items on Black Friday does not guarantee that you are getting the biggest discount, said CNET. The website said that you can buy certain items cheaper before or after the biggest annual sales in the U.S. retail industry.

Here are some items you should avoid buying during Black Friday.

Electronics - Adobe Marketing Cloud said you can get a bigger discount if you buy electronic products before Thanksgiving with an average 18 percent to 17 percent of items. Electronic items comprised of 1 percent of the items sold during Black Friday and you have to compete with 76 percent of the shoppers wanting the same item you want to buy. It is normal to see "out of stock" notices if you wait until Black Friday. Better buy the electronic item you want before Thanksgiving.

Toys - But of course, everybody will be shopping for toys on Black Friday for their kids or as gifts. Expect to see the "out of stock" notices to triple during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Word of advice, buy toys early before stocks run out.

Jewelry - This item is best bought on Thanksgiving Day when you should get discounts of up to 25% discount across 20 percent of available items. You should not expect to see too many "out of stock" notices during the entire Thanksgiving weekend too.

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