In the United States, this Friday — that is the day after the Thanksgiving holiday — is Black Friday. It is a big shopping day where bargain seekers line up outside store doors even before they open to get a head start in grabbing deals that have — or haven’t — been announced in advance. Retailers meanwhile try to offload inventory and drive traffic to their stores in an event that often can be an indicator about the retailer’s health and position in the market.
Images of masses of buyers, doorbusters and even fist fights often emerge immediately after Black Friday. Many retailers have extended to the entire weekend, and even put the sales online on the following Monday, which has been dubbed Cyber Monday.
This shopping event, however, seems to be to lose its appeal among Americans. A recent survey conducted by Bankrate.com and Princeton Survey Research Associates showed that this year only around one in four Americans (28 per cent) are planning on shopping in stores on Black Friday. The remaining 72 per cent will be foregoing those deals.
Why? Consumers have growing awareness that Black Friday deals aren’t exceptional, according to the survey. They realise that those deals aren’t simply as presented as a one-time-only opportunity to save, and neither is Cyber Monday for online shoppers.
This same understanding often applies to most sales throughout the year — in the United States or anywhere else. Often, there are good deals — or bargains — and they are bad ones. If you’re a heavy shopper, your cost probably will even out at the end. In addition, your perception of always getting good deals during a particular time may undermine your ability to take your time to review and consider whether a particular item is exactly what you need.
So before you rush to buy something that is highly discounted, consider the following:
Model and make
When you seen a discounted item, you may be tempted to just get it. It may look the same like a product you’ve researched, but is it really the one?
Many people spend lengthy time reading reviews of a particular item just to go out and buy another because it is significantly cheaper. This product can be, for example, an older model that is being discontinued or an item that doesn’t fulfil your needs. Although you may be concerned about passing on a good deal, that is probably not the best use of your money either.
Getting a bundle
Many sales offers provide an opportunity to buy a bundle that includes the product that you’re looking and other accessories or items. This bundle may be costing slightly more than you’ve planned, but seem like a good deal given the extra stuff that you get. The question is: Do you need this additional load? Wouldn’t make it more sense to just wait and get only the item that you’re looking for at a much lower price?
If you’re setting a budget for your purchases, it may make sense to just stick to what you’re looking for. Don’t be tempted by more and bigger options. The more you limit your purchase to wants rather than needs, the more you’ll be able to get the benefit of buying during a sales event.
Know your event
Some sales events are better than others. For example, those related to end of season may have more items that retailers are trying to offload than those that are related to some occasion — Valentine’s Day for example. In short, although retailers may put some items on lower prices, genuine across-the-board sales often don’t take place at the frequency you see sale signs in store windows.
The more you familiarise yourself with the best time of the year to shop for particular items — be it seasonal clothes or cars — you will be more qualified to wait for weeks or months until you get a real discount. For big-ticket items, it may make sense to track the price for several weeks or ask around about the best time to buy — regardless to having a sale or not. Again, look for the retailer’s reason to cut prices, regardless of the event or the season.
Rania Oteify, a former Gulf News Business Features Editor, is a Seattle-based editor.
