I love the holiday season! From the smells of cinnamon and pine, to the beautiful lights, to the excitement in my children’s eyes. Though I love this time of year, I dread the shopping — the crowds, the lines, the over consumption of material things. I still do it though, but only because I have kids.
The one thing that you will never catch me doing, even for my children, is going out on Black Friday for the advertised deep discounts.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a great deal. My idea of grabbing a great deal, however, does not include waiting in long lines, stampeding into a store, and being elbowed by another shopper over a discounted Xbox One. Needless to say, I have never participated in this event.
As I see the ads on TV and in my inbox, I am troubled that Black Friday is still a thing. Fortunately, for those who prefer to stay home on Black Friday, we no longer need to miss out on many discounts. Thankfully, Black Friday is finally graying, some believe it is even dying. Consumer specialists have noticed a trend with retailers offering different and better times to shop and consumers enjoying other days than Black Friday to grab their own deals.
Here are five alternatives of how consumers are saving without the Black Friday madness:
Alternative #1: Shop Thanksgiving Day
One way to grab great deals and possibly avoid the long lines is by shopping on Thanksgiving Day. The Washington Post found that the best Black Friday deals are found on Thanksgiving day. I’m not a fan of going out on Thanksgiving, but because so many are at home with their families, it may be a way to beat the crowds (and the family drama that the holiday sometimes bring).
Alternative #2: The Two Other Days To the Holiday Shopping Trifecta
The two other days to the “major holiday shopping day trifecta,” Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, have both grown in popularity. Due to their popularity, however, you are likely to face long lines on Saturday and “out-of-stock” pop-ups on Monday. Maybe not the best choice, but another option to the crazy madness that plagues Black Friday.
Alternative #3: Shop Throughout November
Instead of shopping during the trifecta holiday days, shop early. You may have noticed the recent commercials about November month-long sales events as many retailers, such as Best Buy, want shoppers to come in earlier and earlier.
There are also other retailers who have a week long sales events. For example, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, Amazon is currently having an 8-day sales event. Other retailers, like Kohl’s, begin their Black Friday sale as early as Monday, November 23.
Alternative #4: Last Minute Shopping
If you’re a last minute shopper and end up in the long lines the days before Christmas, your procrastination actually may not be a bad thing for your pocketbook. Some of the best bargains for toys, for example, can be found in those final shopping days.
Alternative #5: Shop All Year Long
If you are a planner, organizer, and can hide gifts well, then the best way to avoid the crowds is to shop year around. Consumer Reports provides a list of the best times of the year to buy certain products.
I would love to be the year around shopper. I hide things too well, though, that I can’t seem to find them myself. Fortunately, there are other days of the year and various tips and tricks on saving money that I, and others like me, don’t need to venture out and face the chaos that is Black Friday.
Featured image by Eric Mueller under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License
