Black Friday Shopping Do's & Don'ts
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For some, Black Friday is as much a holiday as the holidays themselves. Like the anticipation of opening a present, shoppers can't wait to find out what "deals" Black Friday has to offer.
"I wouldn't get up at 4 in the morning for any shopping opportunity I ever heard of," University of St. Thomas marketing professor Lorman Lundsten said.
It almost goes without saying that Lundsten isn't a fan of Black Friday. He knows that stores like Wal-Mart and Target may offer discounts on electronics. But Lundsten says a recent survey conducted by his university shows that not all deals are good deals.
"We asked people what they were planning on shopping for and the bottom of the list was indeed jewelry," said Lundsten.
Lundsten says jewelry is in demand this time of year, and merchants will see sales whether they lower the price or not -- so chances are they won't.
Toys are another item to wait on.
"There's no killer item this year. There's no Elmo," said Lundsten.
With no "must have" toy, Lundsten believes deals can be had after Black Friday.
There's also the question of whether or not you are getting the best Black Friday deals at stores like Apple and Microsoft. Some retail experts see the $329 Apple iPad mini as similar to the iPad 2. And the iPad 2 may be cheaper on Black Friday. There's also the belief that the price of the new Microsoft Tablet could drop considerably by spring.
Lundsten says other items to bypass on Black Friday may be winter apparel, digital cameras, and name brand HDTV sets. He says all will be discounted in a month or so.
Despite that, Lundsten says retailers can expect a 10 percent increase in sales over last year's Black Friday.
