Cyber Monday promises sweeter deals if Black Friday sales fall short, expert says

WASHINGTON (7News) — The holiday shopping season kicks into high gear this week with Black Friday, Nov. 29 through Cyber Monday, Dec. 2. For retailers, it’s their busiest time of the year and most profitable.

According to Forbes, U.S. retail sales are forecast to rise 5% over 2023 levels to $75 billion.

This year sales started early in October, with many major retailers offering deals.

But sales are expected to get even better right after Thanksgiving.

“While I think it’s not going to be chaos at the stores, the statistics that I’m seeing are that Black Friday is really important to consumers still. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are absolutely still a thing,” said consumer expert Trae Bodge.

According to a Lightspeed Commerce poll, 40% of consumers feel that Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are very important for their holiday gift shopping, and 68% find that sales like this are very important to their shopping decisions.

Look for discounts in a variety of categories.

“The categories that are going to be the strongest on Black Friday, is really tech, home appliances, apparel, especially fall apparel and beauty, and then we will see some deals in toys. But historically, the discounts on toys tend to deepen in December,” Bodge said.

Retailers will offer deals in the 20% to 70 % off range.

Spending on tech accessories will be strong.

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“Tech accessories are always the most popular because many of us can’t afford to buy, say, a laptop for someone on our list, or a flat-screen TV. So I think we are going to see a lot of great deals on things like earbuds, mobile chargers, Bluetooth speakers, and that’s where those discounts can be a little bit more generous in the 40% off range,” Bodge said.

Home appliances are another strong category.

“Home appliances is very strong. I’m seeing discounts in the 40% off range. So that’s fantastic, whether you’re buying a gift or buying something for yourself. Players in that space, I’d say we’re Target. They’re going really strong on countertop appliances. So that’s where you can see those 40% off deals,” Bodge said.

The shopping categories for Cyber Monday are similar to Black Friday, but you may find the deals are even sweeter.

“On Cyber Monday, the deals tend to broaden, so it’s on a larger range of items,” Bodge said. “The other thing about Cyber Monday, which is interesting is that sometimes if retailers don’t have a really strong Black Friday, they might have the flexibility to offer deeper discounts on Cyber Monday.”

Spending is expected to be up about 1% from last year according to the national retail federation. Bodge said it doesn’t matter if you shop online or in stores; both will have deals.

There are a couple of dates to keep in mind:

Free shipping day is Dec. 14, and Super Saturday, the last big shopping push, is Dec. 21, the last Saturday before Christmas.