Typically, those hot items run out before you can reach the front of the line. Yes, you'll probably leave the sleepy and disappointed, with only a "Toy Story 3" DVD or pair of earrings in hand. All in all many have experienced this and said "it's possibly one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had."
That's why this year; many people are giving up real-world shopping and planning to buy online.
"I can shop from my bed instead of waking up at 3 a.m. to wait out in the cold for three hours to fight everybody for 20 percent off more than that," the 29-year-old said by phone from Seattle, Washington. "All I need is ... my pillow and my iPad and I'm good. I can do all the shopping wherever I am."
While Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving in the
Furthermore, the growth in online purchases is expected to outpace that in brick-and-mortar stores this holiday season. Analysts are saying that they expect an increase of up to 16% in online sales. Attribute part of the trend to practicality, since people like shopping in their PJs to shopping instead in a sea of throwing elbows in madhouse crowds. But penny-pinchers may also be driving the phenomenon. Many of the best discounts on electronics -- especially big-ticket items like TVs, laptops and gaming systems and also jewelry -- are found on the internet, not at retail stores. Online discounts "are as juicy or even more appealing than what some of the retailers are promising on Black Friday.
Experts advise people to stay away from the Black Friday mania "unless you like rubbing against people you don't know -- or getting trampled.” On the internet, particular days seem to have less importance than at retail stores. Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target and Best Buy are already offering online discounts on electronics that may match or beat Black Friday prices. Target.com, for example, is selling a Samsung HDTV for $50 less than Wal-Mart's advertised Black Friday discount price of $500, said sources from DealNews a website a website that tracks product discounts.
Other online deals may not surface until mid-December. Because retail stores have overstocked their supplies of TVs, merchandise shouldn't run out and "the deals will get better, guaranteed, as you get closer to Christmas. Some discounts may pop up online on Friday, in tandem with in-store deals. Apple, which isn't known for discounting its high-end products, says it will have a one-day sale at apple.com on Friday. The ad on its website makes no mention of a companion sale in Apple retail stores.
In recent years, a phenomenon marketer’s call "Cyber Monday" has emerged as a sort of online holiday shopping event. On the Monday after Thanksgiving, legend has it, consumers rush to the internet -- presumably from their workplace computers -- to shop for the rest of their lists.
But experts say that shopping holiday is largely bunk. The internet tracker comScore said Cyber Monday never has been the biggest online shopping day of the year. That day typically comes on a Monday in December, said comScore's senior director of industry analysis, Andrew Lipsman.
Still, the Monday after Thanksgiving is a bigger day for online shopping than either Thanksgiving Day -- which has been talked about as the hot new day to shop online -- and Black Friday. Last year, Americans spent almost $900 million at online retail stores on the Monday after Thanksgiving -- compared with $595 million on Black Friday and $300 million on Thanksgiving Day, comScore said.
Instead of hunting around stores, start watching Twitter feeds, blogs and browsing websites to get the best deals. "I'm already committed to shopping online," say many consumers, adding that "it's easier -- and less terrifying -- for them than bumping shoulders with the retail mob."
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