Black Friday

What Is Open and What Is Closed on Thanksgiving Day 2016?

November 24, 2015 By Guest Writer 1 Comment

Though many places have been receiving criticism for it, a good amount of retailers will be opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day for shoppers to get a kick start on their holiday shopping. While Black Friday has been the traditional day to shop, most stores will be opening earlier than the usual in hopes of luring in early-bird holiday shoppers. Most stores are now open on Thanksgiving Day, but there are still a few retailers keeping the tradition of letting the employees spend the holiday with their families.

These decisions are a thing of controversy. REI, for instance, received a flood of praise for its firm decision to stay closed on what ShopperTrak predicts will be the busiest sales day of the season. Many consumers see employees being forced to work on a holiday centered around family to be a shame, and they blame the company for doing so.

Many shoppers claim that because of the convenience of Internet shopping, there is no need for retailers to stay open on Thanksgiving Day. As a result of the retailers being open, many employees are scheduled to work and forced to make their families take a backseat. In 2014, an estimated 134 million people shopped online and in stores over Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. Friday was the busiest day of that weekend, with 87 million shoppers making purchases on the day known as Black Friday.

So, what is open this Thursday (Thanksgiving) and what is not? It may be hard to decipher which retailers are maintaining the traditional values or are pushing their employees to work the holidays.

Retailers that are choosing to open their doors Thanksgiving Day include:
Big Lots
Bealls
Belk
CVS
Gander Mountain
Goody’s
Gordmans
HH Gregg
J.C. Penney
K-Mart
Kohl’s
Lord & Taylor
Macy’s
Meijer
Michaels
Old Navy
Palais Royal
Peebles
Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH
Sears
Stage
Target
Toys R Us
Walmart

Other retailers, however, are keeping their doors closed and allowing their employees to stay at home with family:
American Girl
Barnes and Noble
BJ’s
Costco
DSW
GameStop
Guitar Center
Half Price Books
The Home Depot
IKEA
Jo-Ann
Marshalls
Mattress Firm
Nordstrom
Patagonia
P.C. Richard & Son
Pier 1
Saks Fifth Avenue
Sam’s Club
Staples
Tractor Supply

Many consumers will be taking advantage of the earlier opening times this holiday. Although it means they will have to leave the dinner table early and go and stand on long lines, many people will go out in search of the best deals.

If you are pondering going out this weekend to cross a few items off your holiday gift list, be sure you have a plan of action. If you are going to one of the stores that are open on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, be sure you know exactly what you are going in the store to get. Many retailers map out where hot items are located. Get a map and have a plan so that you have a successful shopping trip with as little stress as possible.

These Stores have the Biggest Black Friday Sales

November 19, 2015 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

Most retailers have revealed their Black Friday sales if they are having any, but many consumers are wondering, where are the best deals? While the “doorbuster” sales may seem the greatest, there may be other better deals out there.

The list prices for many of the Black Friday sales are artificially inflated. This is just used to make the price look more impressive. For example, if a television is on sale for $200 on Black Friday and it is regularly $600, it will definitely grab the attention of shoppers. However, the original price is inflated. It may have never been sold for $600. In fact, it could have always been listed at $200, but it is Black Friday, so more people are paying attention to the ads and will believe the $600 original price. So, which places are offering the biggest, and most genuine, discounts?

J.C. Penney is the top discounter on Black Friday. The average markdown is 68 percent for the holiday sales event. If J.C. Penny claims the item you are buying is worth $100, you probably won’t be paying any more than $32.

Next on the list is Kohl’s. The average discount at the department store is 66.7 percent, coming in a close second to Penny’s Black Friday sales.

Those who shop regularly probably won’t find these two stores as a surprise. J.C. Penny has offered more and more discounts and been more honest about their pricing since 2012 when the company announced that it would put and end to its fake pricing. The CEO at the time admitted that less than 1 percent of the merchandise in the store was sold at full list price.

Kohl’s send out coupons in the mail for $5 credits and 30 percent off your entire purchase. When you combine these with your in-store discounts (a percentage off of certain items), you are likely to regularly get 50 percent or more off your regular purchases.

Both Kohl’s and J.C. Penny have been called out in the past for false advertising and inflated prices. However, the biggest discounts and the best deals don’t go hand-and-hand, but if you are looking for the largest discounters this Black Friday, here are the top competitors:

J.C. Penney: 68% Off

Kohl’s: 66.7% Off

Stage: 63.9% Off

Groupon: 63.7% Off

Belk: 59.5% Off

Macy’s: 56% Off

Kmart: 50.1% Off

Panasonic: 47% Off

Fred Meyer: 45.3% Off

Office Depot/OfficeMax: 42.8% Off

After the Office Depot is Sears, whose average Black Friday discounts of 41.7 percent off. Companies like Walmart (30 percent) and Amazon (25.8 percent) are often thought of for providing the best value and best deals for their shoppers are actually providing the lowest discounts on Black Friday. However, the two stores’ prices start out low, so furthering their already discounted prices is difficult.

The list of the biggest discounters is likely to also be the list of stores with the most inflated prices. Be wary of large discounts this Black Friday and be sure to research the best deal. While Walmart’s percentage off may not be that much, they are still probably offering the better deal.

Walmart Launches Daily Deals for Online Shoppers

November 10, 2015 By Guest Writer 2 Comments

Instead of focusing on a single weekend this November, most retailers plan to extend their sales and special deals to cover the entire holiday season. One of the largest companies planning to do this is Walmart.

Pre-Black Friday Deals

The retail giant will be kicking off the holiday specials in early November. Walmart announced on Nov. 6 a new Season’s Best Online Special promotion that will run every single day throughout the rest of the holiday shopping season.

90-day “Rollbacks”

Walmart also kicked off more 90-day “Rollbacks,” discounting items like electronics and baking essentials, which will be available on its Daily Savings Center website. These deals will only be available online, and will include special buys and rollbacks. The items included in the promotion will have their prices slashed for at least 90 days, or while supplies last. Each day offers 10 brand new online specials. Many think that the retail giant is trying to compete with other online retailers like Amazon and eBay.

Walmart will be launching the specials with sales that include video games, electronics and toys. Not only that, they will offer buyers bonus rollbacks at Black Friday and Cyber Monday-like prices to kick off the Season’s Best Online Specials event. Here are some of the best deals included in Walmart’s special online offers:

• $429 PlayStation 4 Call Of Duty III Limited Edition Bundle with Madden or FIFA 16 Game (Game Stop has the same price on this, but it does not include Madden or FIFA 16)

• $399 Xbox One 1TB FIFA 16 Limited Edition Bundle with headset and controller (Other places have the same price, but the bundle does not include a headset)

• $199 Nintendo 3DS Handheld Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer Bundle (Game Stop has the 3DS for $220)

• $99.99 24-inch RCA HDTV (This is about $20 off from the prices on Amazon)

• $288 Dell 15.6″ Inspiron Laptop PC with Intel Pentium N3540 Processor (A $50 decrease in price from Amazon)

• $199 Jetson Junior Kids’ Electric Scooter Bike (Practically $100 off the original price)

• $99 Kalee Mercedes-Benz Battery-Powered Ride-On (This is compared to $148 on Amazon)

• $19 Star Wars Inquisitor Lightsaber Clock (This is priced at $50 at “Toys ‘R’ Us”

All of the offers except the Star Wars clock have free shipping available. These online specials also offer other products such as popular items in the electronics, home, apparel and other categories. Visit Walmart’s Daily Savings Center page to learn more.

Target plans to be offering a similar opportunity for early shoppers. Both Walmart and Target started their pre-holiday sales on Nov. 1. Black Friday may be a thing of the past soon, or the retailers may simply be catering to online shoppers and people who like to hit the stores sooner than the day after Thanksgiving. Either way, the deals and prices (and the amount of time they are available) are an amazing way to save this holiday season.

Stores Open and Closed on Thanksgiving Day 2014

November 25, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

Stores that are open and closed on Thanksgiving day

It wasn’t too long ago that all major retailers remained closed on Thanksgiving Day waiting for the stroke of midnight to open their doors for all the black Friday deals. That’s no longer the case. More and more retail stores are opening their doors at earlier and earlier times on Thanksgiving Day, while others refuse to fall prey to this new trend by keeping their doors shut. This all makes for a lot of confusion for consumers who don’t know which stores will be open or what time they will be opening. Below you’ll find a list of some of the more popular retailers, whether they are open on Thanksgiving Day, and if they are, what time they will open. You can also access more comprehensive list of the stores that will be open and stores that will be closed on Thanksgiving.

While it’s probably in your financial and family interest to avoid shopping on Thanksgiving Day, it’s also the day that will offer the greatest discounts over the Thanksgiving weekend.

If you do decide to go shopping on Thanksgiving day, don’t forget the most important rule. You’re only getting a good deal if the purchases you make were planned purchases. If you were never planning to buy the item until you saw the deal, it’s not a deal at all. Instead, it’s a price induced impulse purchase. You end up spending money you never planned to spend, and when you do that for something that’s not a need, it’s never a good deal.

The following retail stores are opened and closed on Thanksgiving Day:

Walmart Stores

Walmart is open Thanksgiving Day. Walmart is open everyday of the year now for some period of time except for Christmas Day. While it’s open on November 27, stores aren’t open during their normal business hours. Walmart stores open at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

Costco Warehouse

Costco is closed Thanksgiving Day. Costco is closed six days during the year, and Thanksgiving Day is one of them. If you need to stock up at the warehouse, you’ll need to do it before November 28. Costco opens on Friday, November 28 an hour earlier than it usually does (9:00 am instead of 10:00 am) for Black Friday.

Target Stores

Target is open Thanksgiving Day. Target is one of the retailers that has decided to open it’s doors early in November 27, although the best deal being offered at Target is on Black Friday. For those who want to hit the store early, it open at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

BJ’s Wholesale

BJ’s Wholesale is closed Thanksgiving Day. BJ’s is another store which has decided to remain closed on November 28 so that employees can enjoy the day with their families. BJ’s will open on Black Friday at 7:00 am.

JC Penny

JC Penny is open Thanksgiving Day. JC Penny is supposed to have the highest percentage discounts this Black Friday weekend with savings of over 65 percent. JC Penny is also getting an hour jump on many of the other major retailers by opening its doors at 5:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

Macy’s

Macy’s is open Thanksgiving Day. All Macy’s stores will open on Thanksgiving Day with some big discounts (the store ranks as the #2 behind JC Penny for best discounts offered for Black Friday weekend with savings of over 50%). Macy’s will open at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

Sears

Sears is open Thanksgiving Day. Sears will be opening its doors on November 28, and will be joining both Walmart and Target in opening its doors at 6:00 pm. It’s supposed to have the best percentage discounts on clothes at over 70 percent off regular retail prices.

Kmart

Kmart is open Thanksgiving Day. Kmart has decided to leave no pretense that Thanksgiving should be a day to spend time with family and friends, and it’s treating the entire day as one for shopping. While most retailers won’t open until the evening, Kmart is opening its doors at 6:00 am (yest, that’s in the morning and not a typo) on Thanksgiving Day.

Lowe’s

Lowe’s is closed Thanksgiving Day. If you are planning to do some work on the house on Thanksgiving, you should buy the items you’ll need for the project before Thursday since Lowe’s is one of the retailers refusing to open its doors on Thanksgiving Day. Lowe’s opens at 5:00 am on Black Friday.

Home Depot

Home Depot is closed Thanksgiving Day. Home Depot stores, much like Lowe’s, has made the decision to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day to let their employees have the day off with their families. Home Depot will open its doors at 5:00 am the day after Thanksgiving.

Best Buy Stores

Best Buy is open Thanksgiving Day. Best Buy is joining JC Penny in opening its doors an hour earlier than their main competitors. Best Buy will be open for business at 5:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

While some retail stores are beginning to open on Thanksgiving Day, that’s not the case with everything. The post offices will be closed on November 27, and so will credit unions and banks.

Apple Partners with (RED) for Black Friday to Spread AIDS Awareness Through Apps

November 24, 2014 By Julie Morse 3 Comments

Apple and (RED) partner on apps for World Aids Day

With all the talk about Black Friday this week, it’s not a surprise Apple is also jumping on the Black Friday boat, but the company is adding a philanthropic twist. They have decided to celebrate the holidays by launching a 2-week fundraising campaign for World AIDS Day, which is on December 1st. Apple says it plans to donate an unspecified percentage of its proceeds from 25 popular apps to (RED)’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Apple is also donating a portion of its sales from Black Friday and Cyber Monday to The Global Fund.

Since it was established in 2006, (RED) has raised more than $275 million for The Global Fund, with $75 million of that funding coming from Apple. (RED) was co-founded in 2006 by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver to promote HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment resources worldwide. (RED)’s partners include Apple, Bank of America, Beats By Dre, Coca Cola, Starbucks, Telcel, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Square amongst many others.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is calling this season’s campaign the biggest of theirs yet. They started planning for the initiative back in May, when they began strategizing with developers to customize their apps to feature (RED) additions and promotions. For example, Electronic Art’s FIFA 15 players can compete in a (RED)-themed tournament, and Zynga’s CSR Racing players can purchase a (RED) Mercedes-Benz AMG GT. Starting December 7th, to celebrate the cause, the GarageBand new in-app purchase Loop Pack that will have 300 guitar, synth, drum, and bass loops spanning over a variety of musical genres, will feature a (RED)-esque background.

Some of the apps that are participating in the (RED) campaign are the following:

Angry Birds – Now lets players hone their skills with a new (RED) Mighty Feather tool
Bubble Witch 2
Saga CSR Racing Clash of Clans – Players have the option to fight with a (RED) badge of honor and (RED) gems
Clear’s
Cut the Rope 2 – features a vast selection of (RED) items such as hat, ginger cookie, and balloons
Despicable Me: Minion Rush
DJay 2’s – a limited-time sound package that includes spin tables that turn (RED)
FIFA 15 Ultimate Team – players can win (RED) ambassador status
Farmville 2: Country Escape Frozen Free Fall – the Kingdom of Arendelle will include a special (RED) challenge
Garageband: Loop Pack will contain 300 bass, drum, guitar, synth loops featuring a (RED)-esque background
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood Head’s Up!
The Human Body – Will include a new booklet educating readers on HIV/AIDS
Kitchen Stories Cookbook Over – 6 artists have designed a series of new (RED) fonts, as well as new (RED) boarders
Paper by Fifty Three – Sketch, Outline, Write, Mixer, and Color tools will all contain (RED) components
Puzzle & Dragons – limited-time access to the (RED) magic stone
Rayman Fiesta Run – players can now purchase costumes for Rayman, Globox, and Teensy characters that each have a (RED) twist
Star Walk 2 – The section on Mars now features a (RED) learning tool
Sims FreePlay – Players have the option to buy (RED) swimming pool, piñata, and party plane
Threes!
Toca Boca – the game now includes (RED) diamonds and (RED) ice cream!

For the Best Black Friday Deals Where to Shop Depends on What You’re Buying

November 23, 2014 By Kendra Smith 6 Comments

What sores are giving the biggest discounts on Black Friday

With over 65% of Americans ready to spend their hard earned cash on Black Friday this year, is it really worth all the crazy for the deals? Well, that depends on where you shop. Wallethub may have answered this question for you.

In a recent study of over 5,000 deals for 22 major retailers, the company has published its findings on where to start and where you may need to stay away. So basing your store deal hunt on what is at the top of your list may be your best strategy, but that may also mean covering a lot of ground depending on the length of your list and the variety of gifts you need to purchase. It also should be noted the best deals will be found on Thanksgiving Day, not Black Friday. These stores will be open on Thanksgiving while these stores will be closed.

Here are the top five in the most popular gift categories to give consumers an idea where to start.

Toys are bound to be on your list somewhere and while it may be tempting to just hit the nearest big box store like Target to get the best discounts, it isn’t the best place to go. In fact, Target comes in at the number four spot of the top five retailers offering discounts on Toys. Kohl’s and CVS are number one and number two for those looking for deep discounts on toys.

If jewelry is on your list, you’ll want to find the lowest pricing you can so you can get more for your money to make the gift even more special. The best places to get jewelry is at Kohl’s or Meijer, where the discounts are more than a staggering 78 percent off for both chains. JC Penney and Macy’s are not even close at under 65 percent savings.

If you’re looking for apparel, head to Sears, where you’ll find clothing at almost a 70 percent discount. You may also want to stop by JC Penney and Macy’s where you’ll find over 60 percent discounts at both retailers.

Are you looking for phones or computers specifically? Your first stop should be Office Depot or OfficeMax. The merged chain of office supply stores has the best deals by offering right around 40 percent off these items. And while you may assume Walmart to be number two on this list, it actually ranks fourth behind Staples and Radio Shack.

If you’re looking for consumer electronics, Walmart isn’t even in the top five. Macy’s tops this one with a over 65 percent discount. Staples and Radio Shack have discounts of just above a 40 percent to place in spots two and three on this list.

Overall, JC Penny rated first with the highest average discounts, followed by Macy’s, Rite Aid, Meijer and Sears.

The bottom five on the list giving the lowest percentage discounts are Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, Big Lots and Costco.

This poses the interesting question. If the stores already offer deep discounts, did Wallethub include a comparison of original prices in their research? It stands to reason that the large discount retail chains already offering great everyday deals would have lower percentage discounts because thier prices are already deeply discounted.

(Photo courtesy of djLicious)