Where to Find the Best Discounts on Black Friday

Once Thanksgiving dinner is safely tucked away, many Americans’ thoughts turn to shopping. Some will hit the stores that are open on the holiday and others may just browse through the offers at a store’s website. Some may even wait until Black Friday.

Whatever your choice, you and your fellow shoppers are expected to drop nearly $656 billion over the Black Friday weekend, an increase of 3.6% compared with last year’s spending. And everyone will be in search of the best prices.

Researchers at WalletHub have surveyed the available Black Friday advertising supplements from 35 retailers, looking at some 8,000 deals on offer from U.S. retailers. They were looking for the largest advertised discounts in these product categories: apparel and accessories; electronics and computers; consumer electronics; consumer packaged goods; toys; and appliances.

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Before looking at the stores with the best prices in each category, here’s a list of the 10 stores offering the largest average discount in general:

1. Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): 63.4%
2. Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI): 62.8%
3. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP): 62.8%
4. Harbor Freight (tools): 62.6%
5. Gordmans: 61.6%
6. Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS): 58.1%
7. Shopko: 55.6%
8. Fred Meyer: 49.7%
9. Craft Warehouse: 45%
10. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) tied with CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS): 43.9%

The average discount among the 35 stores surveyed was 39.0%, slightly below the average of 40.2% last year.

The five retailers offering the smallest discounts were:

1. Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG): 23.5%
2. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): 24.7%
3. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): 25.4%
4. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ): 27.5%
5. Ace Hardware: 27.7%

The most-often discounted category is toys, with 22.8% of retailers offering discounts. Apparel and accessories are discounted at 21.7% of retailers, while computers and electronics are discounted at 7.6% of stores and jewelry at 7.5%.

The most heavily discounted category is jewelry, with an average discount of 73%. Books, movies and music are discounted an average of 56%, and apparel and accessories are discounted an average of 50%.

For a full list of stores offering the best discounts in each category and other details of the survey, visit the WalletHub website.

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