Black Friday and Cyber Monday are without a doubt the best days of the year for sales. I should know — I write about sales all year long. Many retailers offer a 20 percent off discount here and there throughout the year, but Black Friday is when they let loose and increase that discount to 30 or 40 percent in a bid for your attention at the shoppiest time of all. If you shop these sales smartly, you can get all of your holiday gifting done early and below budget — or just snag a few things for yourself.
But you do have to know when and how to shop. Sometimes it pays to shop early, before things sell out. Other times it pays to wait for a slightly better discount to come around. To help you navigate the sales, I’ve racked my deals-obsessed brain to come up with a list of tips, including which categories have the best deals, which you can safely skip, which deals tend to sell out fastest, and more.
If nothing else, get your gift shopping done — and be prepared
Shipping is notoriously finicky this time of year, so it’s always a good idea to order gifts plenty early. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are an ideal time to do that, since there are just so many deals to choose from. I suggest spending these final weeks before Cyber Week making a list of possible gifts for people on your list so when the sales go live, you can quickly check to see what’s on sale. But if you want inspiration day-of, we’ll be doing a roundup of our favorite gift-worthy Black Friday deals again this year, so be on the lookout.
Last year, I went in with the goal of finding the best deal I could on some AirPod Pros because I wanted to gift them to my boyfriend for Christmas. It was one of only a few things I bought over the weekend.
Black Friday was the only time I saw the Owala FreeSip go on sale last year. It makes an excellent gift (even if it’s just to yourself).
Shop early, but with caution
Black Friday sales start earlier and earlier each year. It used to be that brands started sales the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but the competition got tougher last year. Brands would tell me that they weren’t starting their sales until a certain date, but then a competitor would announce its sale was starting and other brands would clamor to follow suit. At this point, it’s more common for sales to start early than not, but they mostly only get good about a week out from Thanksgiving.
Most of the time, the deals that go live before Black Friday are the same as what you’ll get during actual Cyber Week, so if there’s something you really want and it’s already on sale, I say get it while it’s in stock. There’s a better chance it will sell out than that it will get cheaper. However, there are a few cases where the deal is a bit better — like 25 percent off instead of 20 — come Black Friday itself, so feel free to wait if you don’t think the item you want will sell out.
Great Jones’s sale lasts through December 2, so there’s no reason to wait to shop it.
If you do want to shop early, I’m rounding up all the best Black Friday sales that have already started here.
Cyber Monday sales aren’t necessarily better deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales vary greatly from brand to brand, but in my experience, most places don’t increase discounts on Cyber Monday. At most, they might throw in a freebie with your purchase or add more items to the sales bin, but usually the discount is the same. So my advice here is the same as what I offered above: If you really want something, buy it early. If you’re willing to gamble on stock, you can wait and see if discount changes or a freebie is added to the mix.
Check other retailers, and know their return policies
Retailers like Amazon, Nordstrom, and Target will often price-match the deals going on on other sites. This can make shopping easier because they’ll generally have faster and cheaper shipping and/or a more flexible return window. Last year, for instance, Nordstrom was price-matching Casper and Our Place.
Big-ticket items will be at their best prices
Shoppers no longer have to camp outside a JCPenney or Walmart in order to buy a washing machine or TV on sale. The deals have simply moved online, where you can find the best discounts of the year on appliances and tech. Best Buy and Target are both good places to start, especially if you’re looking for Apple tech or even a high-end vacuum.
Especially tech
“Nearly every year since I started covering tech in 2017, at least ten people ask me what tech they should hold off on buying until Black Friday,’” Jordan McMahon wrote in his Black Friday tech sales post last year. His answer is: Get the expensive tech, like like headphones, tablets, or gaming consoles. “You probably won’t find a better deal than the ones offered this week,” he says. Last year, we saw great deals at individual retailers like JBL, Sonos, and Dyson, as well as tons of discounts at mega-retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Target.
“Amazon always has significant discounts on its own products, like Kindles and Echo devices — I always wait until this time of year when I need to upgrade one of my e-readers,” McMahon says.
Tech is a category you should definitely check for price-matching, though. Last year, Apple didn’t discount its products but offered gift cards of varying amounts with the purchase of a product. Target, Best Buy, and Amazon, however, offered straight-up discounts on Apple products. The best place to buy depends on what you want — money now or later — but it’s worth comparing and considering before paying.
If you want a new streaming service, now’s the time to subscribe
Last year, several streaming services offered hefty 12-month discounts during Black Friday. Hulu, for example, was just 99 cents per month when you subscribed during Black Friday (normally it’s at least $8 per month), and Paramount+ was just $2 per month (down from $6). If you’ve been unsure whether another streaming service is worth it, now is a good time to subscribe and try it out cheaply.
The fashion deals will be vast
As is usually case during holiday sales, tons of clothes are significantly discounted. Last year, Madewell offered 50 percent off its entire site, which was the best deal I’d ever seen the brand offer. (Normally its sitewide discounts cap out at 40 percent.) Lululemon’s sale is always popular, too, with men’s and women’s items marked down up to 70 percent. The sheer volume can be a bit overwhelming, though, which is why our fashion writer Ambar Pardilla will be sniffing out only the actually good deals. As she’s done in past years, she’ll be rounding up the best deals, organized by retailer, making it easy to compare discounts and find the very best ones.
As will be the toy deals
According to senior writer Liza Corsillo, the big three — Amazon, Target, and Walmart — have the most sprawling deals on toys during Black Friday. Last year she found dozens of options for over 50 percent off at each of the retailers. But don’t limit yourself to those three. Smaller, independent brands like Fat Brain Toys and Maisonette, for instance, had good (and sometimes even better) discounts too, with up to 60 or 70 percent off certain toys.
Some beauty products will be at their lowest price ever, so stock up
A lot of beauty brands discount products by up to 20 percent off throughout the year, but they almost always bump that discount up to 25 or 30 percent off for Black Friday. “I always use it as an opportunity to stock up on my favorite beauty products, buy gifts for loved ones, and try out new products I’ve been eyeing throughout the year,” says writer Tembe Denton-Hurston. It’s a particularly good time to shop at Sephora, since it rarely has sales. Last year it offered up to 50 percent off brands like Tarte, Topicals, and Kiehl’s, and there were flash deals that changed daily.
This value-size moisturizer from First Aid Beauty was nearly 60 percent off last year at Sephora.
Mattresses will probably be a little bit cheaper
If you keep up with my year-round coverage of mattress sales, you know that mattresses are always on sale. While a typical discount at any given time is about 15 to 20 percent off, Black Friday seems to be one of the only times mattress brands bump up the savings, usually by an extra 5 percent.
Don’t skip out on small businesses
Yes, all the big brands will have sales, but so do smaller businesses — and they often don’t wait for Small Business Saturday to go live. Salter House never has sales, but I bought this nightdress while it was a rare 20 percent off on Black Friday last year.
Cyber Monday doesn’t end on Monday
If this year is anything like the past few, a fair amount of retailers will extend their sales and turn the entire first week of December into a full-on Cyber Week. The discounts won’t change, but brands might throw in a free gift with purchase to convince you to check out.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
