SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA/MEDIA GENERAL) — Black Friday is just days away and the flyers are already online, giving shoppers everything they need to comparison shop. But with thousands of sales, that process can be overwhelming.
Analysts with WalletHub say if it’s not at least 40 percent off, don’t buy it.
The company scoured 8,000 deals from 35 top retailers and found Macy’s has the highest average discount of 63 percent. Stage, JCPenney, Harbor Freight and Gordmans round out the top five.
They also broke down the best deals from retailers by category. Gordmans tops the list for apparel and accessories discounted at 67.4 percent, on average, while Kmart tops the list for best deals on computers and phones, offering a 54.9 percent.
“Go through your list and make sure to match exactly which retailers are the best discounts for that specific product or category. Apparel for instance, you might be getting 70 percent off at one store, while the other is offering 40 percent off,” Jill Gonzalez, a Wallet Hub analyst, told WSPA.
Customers can also save big on doorbusters. Sears, is advertising half off major appliances and at Best Buy, a Toshiba 4K TV will be more than 50 percent off.
“A 50 inch for 200 bucks, that’s stupid crazy,” said Ryan Gentry, sales manager at the Best Buy store in Spartanburg, South Carolina, adding, “And computers, I’ve never seen a computer that cheap, for 99 bucks.”
Wherever you shop, experts say you should be armed with a smartphone. Penny Pinchin’ Mom has a Black Friday database that allows you to quickly search your item to see if it’s cheaper elsewhere and the Amazon app lets shoppers price compare using a bar code scanner.
Shoppers should expect to see the most deals on toys, but the prices won’t be rock bottom, only 33 percent on average, according to WalletHub. Jewelry will be the most deeply discounted at 65 percent.
