Nov. 20. In 2023 Americans shopped from home on Black Friday more than they did in stores, with 76.2 million people getting their deals in person and 90.6 million making purchases online. WalletHub’s new report on the Best Places to Shop on Black Friday puts venerable retailer JCPenney at the top.

Best Black Friday Retailers (Avg. 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%)

Pro Tips;

—JCPenney has the highest overall discount rate, at 76.20%; 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%.

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/

Question and Answer with PK Kannan

How can consumers distinguish between real Black Friday deals and marketing traps? How can they protect themselves and maximize their bargains? How can you protect yourself from overspending?

Consumers expect to see great deals during Black Friday, and they are in an expectation and impatient mode around this time – mainly because of FOMO (fear of missing out on great deals). Retailers know this and take advantage of it: (a) they have may have great door buster deals just to draw people into stores but may have only a few in stock – their hope is that consumers having made the trip will buy something else (at a higher price).

Kannan

If you have time, get in line early for the door buster and take advantage. It also helps to check the fine print to see whether they specify “limited quantity” – if so, chances are this is a marketing trap!; (b) retailers may jack up the regular price and then offer great discounts, which may seem like a great deal but in maybe an illusion to get you to buy. The best way to protect yourself against this is to do your homework.

If you know you are interested in an item, keep track of their regular prices before 2 months ahead – or use online tools to check prices over time. This is useful for big ticket items; (c) retailers can sometime resort to bundling the products – something you really want is bundled with other products, which makes you buy the whole bundle – you end up spending more than what you planned for.

This usually works and that is why retailers do this – the price on the product individually maybe set high enough for you to consider the bundle option as an attractive deal; (d) retailers sometime provide you credit cards right at the store, offering discounts for some items – once you have the credit card, you end up spending more at the store! This may bust your budget if you are not too careful; (e) It might be a good idea to check the return policies of the items on Door Buster sales – retailers are very wary of returns and don’t like it (watch a big game on big screen TV and then return the item!).

Many may have restocking fees unless it is a defective item. Some of the Black Friday deals are meant to clear excessive stocks, and the retailers don’t want them back!

Additional things that consumers can do to maximize bargains and limit spending: (a) Check online for prices for the Black Friday deals – compare prices and be knowledgeable; (b) have a budget in mind before you go offline shopping – planned shopping list is the best way to limit impulse spending; have a friend or family member accompany you to help you as a budget keeper! (Does not work always, though, if that person is a shopaholic just like you!)

–P. K. Kannan
Dean’s Chair in Marketing Science, Professor of Marketing, Robert H. Smith School of Business – University of Maryland, College Park