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These Are Our Shopping Editors’ Predictions for Black Friday 2024

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These Are Our Shopping Editors’ Predictions for Black Friday 2024

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching. Before you start shopping for holiday gifts, you’ll want to have a game plan in mind so you can actually save some cash. And if you don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place: our experts and shopping editors came together to share their best Black Friday predictions after working Black Friday year after year.

Here at the Good Housekeeping Institute, we know a thing or two about vetting discounts and evaluating products. The Lab pros have been been testing products for decades, and our commerce editors have reported on Black Friday and Cyber Monday for several years. Our meticulous deal-checking process helps us find the best sales that are worth spending your hard-earned money on so that you can avoid mediocre, insignificant sales.

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday falls later than usual this year, landing on November 29, 2024 — the day after Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday falls on December 2, after the weekend.

Shoppers can enjoy major savings in stores on Black Friday, and many brands will extend their online sales through the weekend until the end of Cyber Monday. If there is a specific item you’re hoping to snag on sale, it’s best to buy it on Black Friday before sales are over or the product goes out of stock.

Early Black Friday deals

Every year, several brands and stores mark down prices in the weeks leading up to Black Friday. In fact, we’ve already spotted a few early sales pop up.

Just like previous years, Walmart will be having multiple online and in-person shopping events throughout November, with the first event beginning on November 11, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET for all online shoppers (note that Walmart+ members can start shopping sales three hours earlier).

Macy’s website currently lists loads of early Black Friday deals, including discounts on luggage, bedding, kitchenware, artificial Christmas trees and more.

Target also enthusiastically participates in early Black Friday deals. They have a special Deal of the Day happening everyday in November leading to Black Friday. At the time of writing, you could score 20% off an iTouch smartwatch and 25% off heaters. (Note that Deal of the Day events are exclusive to Target Circle shoppers, which is free to join). Additional discounts for all shoppers are happening now and change week by week until December 24.

American Eagle is offering an early Black Friday deal where shoppers can get 30% off jeans and pants, both of which are highly approved by our testers and experts. Wayfair is offering up to 70% off savings daily on items, Ulta is releasing new discounts every week throughout November at up to 40% off, and GAP items are currently 50% off across the entire site.

These early sales will not typically offer as steep of discounts as the official Black Friday sales, but they give you a bit more time to order, receive and wrap your holiday gifts, all while enjoying some discounts and savings. Some stores will even offer price protection, meaning you could get a refund of the difference in prices if the sale is steepened on Black Friday, but this varies from store to store, so it’s best to check the brand’s refund and price protection policies.

Sales to expect from brands you love

We’ll be monitoring sales across verticals, meaning we’ll be vetting and reporting discounts on anything from our experts’ favorite vacuums to the best mattresses, top-performing headphones, clothing, sneakers and children’s toys.

More brands that we expect to participate in Black Friday 2024 include Amazon, Saatva, Swiffer, Apple, Sephora and more. These and plenty of other companies have rolled out Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the past and we anticipate similar participation in 2024.

Black Friday store hours

After a few years of stores opening on Thanksgiving for early Black Friday shopping, companies have gone back to the traditional standard of waiting until the early hours of Friday morning to open. Hours vary from location to location, but if you’re hoping to score major savings in stores on Black Friday, here are the general opening times already shared by some popular retailers:

If you don’t see your favorite store on this list, don’t worry. Plenty of stores will be open on Black Friday — we’ll update this list as we learn more.

Not all stores have Black Friday promotions

Some stores will be closed on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday to give employees the weekend off and avoid the chaos that comes with this shopping event. REI is one brand that vows to stay closed on both days to give their employees extra time outside, but you can still shop for discounts on their website when their Cyber Week sale event begins. Some other stores that intend to remain closed for Black Friday include Patagonia and Allbirds in an effort to reduce overconsumption.

Before heading to a store, it’s best to call ahead to check for open and closing times, as these vary by location. And remember, many companies will have online discounts for Cyber Monday or the entire weekend, so check brands’ websites if their physical stores will be closed.

Online vs. in-person shopping

Whether you want to browse through online retailers or walk down the aisles of your local mall, the decision to shop from home or in person is entirely up to you. Shopping online has the advantage of finding specific items more easily and ensuring if a certain size or model is in stock.

Cyber Monday will have new deals and sometimes these deals are even bigger than what you’ll find on Black Friday, making it advantageous to wait a few days and shop online. While you may have to pay for shipping, I have noticed some brands waive a shipping fee for Cyber Monday.

    Why trust Good Housekeeping

    Our shopping editors at the Good Housekeeping Institute have covered sale events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Amazon Prime Day for nearly a decade. We double-check deals to ensure we’re sharing real markdowns with you, the reader. You can learn more about how we find the best deals on products that our experts, engineers and analysts have tested and approved in our Labs.

    Additionally, as a shopping editor, I receive hundreds of emails every week about the latest innovations and trendy products from new and established brands. This means media reps from brands you know and love are sending my colleagues and I emails providing a heads-up on their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. We used this as a resource and our knowledge from previous sale events to round up our Black Friday 2024 predictions.

    Isabella (she/her) covers commerce and product-related content in the home, lifestyle, fitness, technology and beauty. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English: Literature & Rhetoric. Before joining GH, she was an editorial assistant at Prevention, where she covered health topics and celebrity news. 

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