Is it better to shop on Black Friday or on Cyber Monday?
The two biggest shopping days of the year are right around the corner, but which one has the better deals?
From crashing the gold market to dreading public crowds, “Black Friday,” has evolved differently over the years, until it finally became the Black Friday we know today; a season-long shopping event that’s created more shopping holidays, like Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
For decades, Black Friday was the optimum day for bargain shopping, characterized by long lines and crowded stores.
But in the past few years, Cyber Monday has come very close to it as the United States’ biggest yearly shopping event.
So is it better for everyone to shop on Cyber Monday or Black Friday? Let’s get all up into that:
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday happens the Monday after Black Friday, which comes three days later; this year, it falls on November 28.
Online deals are what Cyber Monday is all about, specifically tech products, which is what is most widely discounted that day than anything else.
In 2020, retail sales on Cyber Monday rose to a record high of $10.8 billion online, mostly because of the covid-19 pandemic. And since then, many retailers have been encouraging customers to shop early and online.
More deals more days
That has led to plenty of online deals cropping up even weeks before Black Friday, offering customers an opportunity to skim through, and find what they’re looking for, whether that’s during Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
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According to Janet Alvarez, the executive editor of the personal-finance publication Wise Bread, “Latest-generation products tend to be cheaper on Black Friday than on Cyber Monday,” Alvarez said. “Cyber Monday is a terrific time for smart-home [devices], TVs, and consoles that are older.”
Alvarez also said “places like Walmart and Best Buy tend to offer the best deals on Black Friday,” with the exception of Amazon, “which tends to have better deals on Cyber Monday, as long as you’re a Prime member.”
So even though Cyber Monday may have better deals overall, as we’ve seen in the last few years, every year more and more online deals take place before, during, and after Black Friday, so it’s pretty hard to say.
Protect yourself
It is important to note also that no matter where and what you end up buying online, it’s best to use credit cards that offer purchase protection, in case anything is lost or damaged.