Whether you shop sales now or wait for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, you’ll find that many of those deals masquerading as fantastic bargains aren’t always as good as they look, and it’s easy to be fooled if you’re not careful.
No worries—Consumer Reports has been tracking Black Friday deals for years, and we know all the tricks. Our top 10 Black Friday shopping tips will help you find the best offers and keep the frustration—and overspending—to a minimum.
The final three tips in the list below apply specifically to TVs, always a hot-ticket item at this time of year.
1. Start early. Sales have already begun, which means you don’t have to wait for Black Friday weekend to find discounts. Retailers are offering deals on items in almost every category, and many have holiday refund and return policies that include partial refunds for items that go on sale for less later in the season. Target, for instance, offers price-match adjustments for anything bought at its stores or online between Nov. 7, 2024, and Dec. 24, 2024. If you see that the price has dropped, contact customer service and they’ll refund you the difference. You just have to save your receipts and be proactive about it.
2. Skip the in-store sales and shop online. While many deals will be available in-person and online, you may have more luck and more options by shopping from your phone or computer. In recent years, we’ve seen retailers offer more of the same promotions online as they do in stores. Shopping online can make it easier to do things like compare prices and shop at different retailers to get the best savings available.
We’ve also seen more stores remaining closed on Thanksgiving, giving shoppers even more incentive to go online to find deals during the holiday itself.
3. Compare prices using websites and apps. To judge how good the deals really are in crunch time, you need to track prices leading up to Black Friday. The same goes for Cyber Monday. But you don’t have to go retailer by retailer to compare prices. The Consumer Reports website lists the current prices at various outlets for all the products in our ratings. You can also try tools like Google Shopping, PriceGrabber, and Shopzilla. When you’re in a store, smartphone apps such as BuyVia, Shopkick, ShopSavvy, and Shopular let you scan barcodes or QR codes to compare prices, get discounts, and score coupons.
There are now dozens of websites that post leaked—and authorized—Black Friday ads. We regularly check BestBlackFriday.com, DealNews, TheBlackFriday.com, and GottaDeal. Sign up for deal alerts, which you can usually filter by product category.
Retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart have their own shopping apps, as well. Amazon’s mobile app, for example, lets you use a smartphone camera to scan products and compare prices when you’re in almost any store. (When you’re done crossing everything off your holiday list, delete the apps you don’t use to protect your privacy and security.)
But direct comparison shopping can be really tough in the run-up to Black Friday. The best deals at each retailer often feature models unavailable at other stores or they’re nowhere to be found earlier in the year. Here are two quick tips:
• Browser extensions can help. These are small bits of software you can add to web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox to customize your browsing experience. For example, CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, and Honey are tools that will show you price histories and price alerts or available coupons when you shop online.
• To be a web-savvy shopper, add items to your shopping cart if they have a price you like so that you can find them again quickly and be all set to order. Then check the websites of other retailers to see whether the price is really special. Putting an item in your cart doesn’t reserve it, though—you need to place your order and get a confirmation that it has been received.
4. Use loyalty programs. Store loyalty programs often grant members early access to coupons, sales, and promotions, then let them earn rewards for what they buy. So sign up for Black Friday shopping alerts. In some cases, you can even find out whether the products you want are in stock or eligible to buy online and pick up at a store, which can save you money on shipping.
5. Get social. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are great resources to find out about exclusive deals and promotions. Brands may promote exclusive offers on these channels, and you might get the inside scoop or special promo codes from influencers. Plus, TikTok’s shopping platform is becoming an increasingly popular place to shop for gifts.
6. Create a budget—and stick to it. Yes, this sounds simple. But Black Friday sales, especially the doorbuster specials available in limited quantities, are designed in part to get you into a store or shopping online so that the retailer can sell you stuff you weren’t intending to buy. It’s really easy to get caught up in the excitement and overspend. Decide ahead of time how much you want your Black Friday shopping spree to cost, and do your best to resist impulse buying, especially if you’re not sure how good a deal is.
If you’re using credit cards when you shop this year, one benefit is that many cards will double the manufacturer’s warranty. But be wary of the interest-free promotions offered by store credit cards. They’re fine if you’re disciplined enough to pay off the balance before the promotional period ends, but if you don’t do that, you may get stuck paying interest on the full amount of the purchase, even if you’ve paid down a lot of the balance.
7. Check all store policies in advance. It’s always good to know a store’s price-match and return policies. Almost all the major retailers have some form of a price-match policy, and they’ve been expanding them almost every year. And most retailers extend their return windows, typically into January, giving you and your gift recipients plenty of time to return or exchange any purchases.
Some stores suspend their price-match guarantees on certain items during the Black Friday weekend, however, so read the fine print. And check the return and exchange policies for Black Friday sales to make sure that the store won’t charge a restocking fee for any item you take back.
