This year’s Black Friday will most likely see an increase of customers as new technology hits the stores and buyers line up to get the latest products. Video game consoles will probably take the lead in sales, but flagship smartphones and VR drones are also at hand.
The NES Mini will not make an appearance, however. There have not been any news about its restocking after it sold out nationwide on the first day of its unveiling. Gaming laptops, however, offer a variety of choices that are sure to keep hundreds of fans lining up to buy them.
Black Friday can be a stressful day for many people, so here’s a guide to help buyers stay focused on the products they want and make the best use of their time. Efficient customers are the ones most likely to seize all the significant discounts this holiday has to offer.
Preparing for Black Friday: a three-step guide
Black Friday buyers should have three things cleared up and ready before heading to the stores. The first one is a budget, which will help determine a price range for products. Most Black Friday deals are already available for reviewing at the official websites of America’s largest chain stores, including Walmart, Target, and BestBuy.
The second thing, which must come from the budget, is a selection of items that fit the price range. Customers should review their desired products and ask themselves two things, what they need (first), and what they want (second).
After that, users should head to the stores with the third thing, comfortable shoes and lots of patience. Users should also try to take the safer options everytime they can.
Cash purchasing can make things go faster, but it’s less safe, for example. Bringing a friend along on Black Friday counts as a solution and can help with getting items off the shelves before they disappear completely.
What is price matching and how does it work?
Though it is not advertised regularly, many people know that if a customer goes to a store and tells the clerk that they found an individual product at a lower price in a competitor location, sometimes the store will match the price, selling the item for the same amount.
Many retailers will probably offer price-matching during Black Friday and Thanksgiving, but only at a particular time. To take advantage of this system, customers should always take printed ads with them, which they can get from blackfriday.com, and compare prices at the store, also visiting their official websites to learn more about price-matching policy.
Shopping on Black Friday: a ‘when and where’ game
Most of the larger store chains are likely to be crowded, so searching for smaller statewide chains that might open can mean spending less time in line. The only downside can be the fact that smaller stores are not able to produce discounts as large as the ones offered by big sellers.
Shopping online is another option that will lure many customers that are not willing to get in line for their favorite products. Sites like Amazon and BestBuy are currently offering tremendous discounts, but their shipping services might experience some delay because of the influx of sales.
The best strategy a user can take is to check store hours and locations, find each product one by one, and create a route map with shopping checkpoints. Many apps currently exist for this purpose, available both for Android and iOS.
Source: USA Today
