Black Friday Sales & Specials

Tuesday, Apr 3, at 1:10 PM

Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Player Giveaway!

How many days do you think we have until Black Friday 2012? we’ll give you a hint, it’s less than 235 and more than 233! That’s right, there are only 234 more days until Black Friday 2012. Many of you are fans of us on Facebook, so you already know we give prizes away every month. For those of you that are not yet fans, we welcome you to join the fun! This month we’re giving away a Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Player!

Enter to win this Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Player

The Details:

1. Visit our Facebook Sweepstakes Page to enter
2. Share with your friends on your Facebook Wall
3. This contest ends on 4/30 and the winner will be notified via email

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 Blu-ray Player Features:

• Full 1080p HD Playback
• 2D-3D Conversion
• Skype video call capablity
• Touch-free disc tray sensor
• 3D Effect Controller to moderate effects

Contest ends on April 30 at 11:59 CST. Good luck to everyone!

For official contest rules please click here.

Friday, Mar 2, at 3:01 PM

Who Wants a Wii for FREE?

Think back to Black Friday 2011. Did you miss out on any of the great deals? Along with our friends at EyeBuyDirect.com, we’re going to try to make up for that by giving ONE lucky Black Friday Fan a FREE Nintendo Wii! Even Black Friday prices aren’t better than free!

The Details:

1. Visit our Facebook Sweepstakes Page to enter
2. Share with your friends on your Facebook Wall
3. This contest ends on Saturday, March 31

This Nintendo Wii Prize includes:

• Nintendo Wii Console in black
• Wii Smart Controller
• Wii Nunchuck
• Game Bundle

EyeBuyDirect.com delivers prescription eyeglasses and designer sunglasses straight to your doorstep. Right now, if you buy one pair of glasses, you can get your second pair free.

Contest ends on March 31 at 11:59 CST. Good luck to everyone!

For official contest rules please click here.

Thursday, Feb 2, at 4:01 PM

Win a FREE Nook Color!

Update: Congratulations to Lisa D. from White Lake, WI for winning the Nook Color! Thanks to everyone for participating!

There are 295 days left until Black Friday, but who’s counting? (Well, yes we are!) To keep you deal-savvy shoppers satiated, we’re giving away a Nook Color to one lucky Black Friday Fan!

The Details:

1. Visit our Facebook Sweepstakes Page to enter
2. Share with your friends on your Facebook Wall
3. This contest ends on Wednesday, February 29

The Nook Color is an e-reader tablet with the largest ebook store, boasting over 2.5 million titles. It comes pre-loaded with apps like Pandora, Sudoku and more. You can read up to 8 hours on a single battery charge and you can charge using an outlet or USB.

Nook Color Specs:

• 7-inch color touchscreen
• 8 Adjust font sizes, 6 styles
• Wireless connectivity
• Adobe Flash Player for enhanced web browsing
• 800 MHz TI processor with 512 MB RAM

Contest ends on February 29 at 11:59 CST. Good luck to everyone!

For official contest rules please click here.

Brad's Top 10 Tips for Black Friday Sales

1. Research: start your Black Friday 2011 sale research on Thanksgiving day or earlier.
2. Make a plan: identify what you want to buy, which stores have the best sales on Black Friday, and what time they open.
3. Timing is everything: arrange stores by opening time from early to late.
4. A fool and his money: be wary of Black Friday deals with quantity limits. If a store only has 10 items at that price, go elsewhere.
5. Visualize: know where your items are in the store.
6. Stay Safe: Previous Black Friday sales were honestly deadly; please don't trample or shoot anyone!
7. Power of numbers: go with a team and attack separate stores or separate sections of the same store. Designate a meeting place.
8. Bring a snack: only amateurs stop at the food court on Black Friday! (Or the bathroom - so go before you leave.)
9. The quiet ones: don't ignore stores that don't advertise. They will have Black Friday deals too!!
10. Have fun: enjoy your family, friends and deals!

Black Friday 2011 Overall Predictions

The 2011 Black Friday climate is far from certain. While in 2010 the economy grew at 3.0% that was a drop from 2009's brisk 5.6% growth and the economy is now projected to slow to anemic 1.6% to 1.7% growth in 2011. The unemployment rate is at 9.1%, plus tens of millions more underemployed or no longer seeking work, and the US Federal Reserve doesn't see unemployment getting below 8.5% until at least 2013. This combined with continued foreclosure problems, a lack of credit, and the introduction of European sovereign debt problems that are seemingly beyond our control, or even that of Europeans, contribute to a continued concern and frugality for most US households. Despite this concern, we've seen a counter-intuitive decline in US household savings rates. Recently above 7%, the highest in a very long time, they have dropped to 3.6% of disposable income in September, though that is still less frugal than the 1-2% we saw from 2005-2007. These factors paint a mixed picture of Black Friday for retailers. Specifically...

• Spending on average will increase again from $365 to $385 as consumers spend more despite the negativity.
• The amount of Black Friday shoppers will increase from 212 million last year to 225 million this year. This the biggest of all discount-focused days and will continue to capture the attention of more shoppers given the broader economic difficulties.
• With more shoppers spending more money, Black Friday spending as a percentage of total holiday sales will increase significantly from 10.0% to 10.6%.
• The amount of Black Friday online shopping will jump from $648 million to $705 million as people try to avoid stores, and online shopping because even more popular.

Black Friday 2010 Results

Well, my predictions were not the greatest last year. Hopefully this year I can do better. Here were my Black Friday predictions and the results:

• More consumers will shop on Black Friday 2010. I'm predicting 200 million shoppers (vs 195M in 2009). - Right....sort of. While the number of Black Friday shoppers increased, I only predicted it would increase to 200 million, 2.6%. It actually jumped to 212 million shoppers, a rise of 8.7%
• Consumers will spend slightly less on average on Black Friday, likely a 3.9% decline (vs. a 7.9% drop in 2009). - Wrong. Consumer spending on average went up from $343 to $365, a decrease of 6.4%.
• Overall 2010 Black Friday spending will decrease slightly. - Wrong. Black Friday spending increased from 9.6% of total holiday retail sales to 10.0%

Black Friday Historic Stats

*predictions; stats are for Thu-Sun on Black Friday weekend; shoppers can be counted more than once; Sources: BIGResearch, NRF, Shoppertrak

History of Black Friday

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Falling as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November, Black Friday is not an official government holiday but many employees do receive the day off. The increased number of shoppers creates the busiest shopping day of the year. To accomodate the rush, many retailers open as early as 4am and offer "loss leaders" and limited quantity sales to entice people to their stores.

The term "Black Friday" has two meanings. In the 1960's, "Black Friday" was used by police in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. Prior to that, "Black Friday" was set to mark the first day that a retailer had sold through enough inventory and turned a profit for the year, putting them "in the black" according to the old by-hand accounting system of using black ink to indicate a profit and red ink to indicate a loss.

What does Black Friday mean for shoppers? Black Friday = Sales! Whether shoppers are searching in malls or online, Black Friday specials are the ultimate goal. Shopping for deals on Black Friday has become a post-Thanksgiving custom for many families. In preparation for this "holiday," shoppers map out the best routes to their favorite stores, each clutching a stack of Black Friday ads & coupons.