If Black Friday feels less like a one-day sale and more like a month-long mind game, you’re not imagining it. Retailers have stretched promotions across all of November, layered on dynamic pricing, and left shoppers wondering: buy now or wait?
Amid higher prices and tighter budgets, many consumers are feeling pressure to “get the best deal” – but also aren’t sure when that deal actually is. Here’s what’s really happening, what’s worth grabbing this week, and what you’re better off postponing.
Black Friday Is Now A Month-Long Experiment
What used to be a single shopping day has turned into a full season of discounts. Sales launch early so retailers can:
- Lock in your spending before competitors
- Test prices and demand with real-time price changes
- Create urgency with “ending soon” and “limited-time” language
Retail analyst Hitha Herzog told ABC News that stores now lean heavily on dynamic pricing — adjusting prices based on demand, inventory and even shopper behavior. What once took days or weeks can now change within minutes thanks to algorithms and real-time data.
That’s why a “doorbuster” you screenshot at breakfast may be a totally different price by the afternoon.
Shoppers Are Stressed – But Still Spending
The financial mood this season is mixed:
- About 38% of shoppers say they already feel financially stressed
- 35% worry they won’t be able to afford all their holiday gifts
- Yet 1 in 4 consumers still plans to spend $1,000 or more on holiday purchases
At the same time, a 2024 Gartner survey found that 68% of people feel “taken advantage of” when brands use dynamic pricing during big sale events. Many shoppers are left second-guessing every “deal” they see.
Buy now, or wait? That depends on what you’re shopping for.
What’s Actually Worth Buying This Week
Even in the chaos, some Black Friday week categories usually offer genuine, hard-to-beat deals:
1. TVs and Electronics
This is traditionally one of the strongest Black Friday categories. Many TV models, soundbars and streaming devices hit their lowest prices of the year right now and often don’t match those discounts again until next November.
If you’ve been planning to upgrade your home theater or gaming setup, this is when it usually makes sense to pull the trigger.
2. Small Kitchen Appliances
Products like:
- Air fryers
- Instant Pots and multicookers
- Blenders and stand mixers
are heavily promoted during Black Friday. Many big-box stores and online retailers stack percentage-off deals with coupons or gift cards, making this one of the best times to buy these items for yourself or as gifts.
3. Major Appliances
Large items such as:
- Refrigerators
- Washers and dryers
- Dishwashers
often come with aggressive markdowns plus bundle discounts, free delivery or installation offers during Black Friday. If your appliances are near the end of their life, this week and the surrounding days often deliver some of the best prices of the year.
What You Should Probably Wait On
Not everything is at its cheapest on Black Friday. Some categories have better patterns at other times:
1. Clothing and Many Toys
- Clothing often drops even more in January, when retailers clear out winter inventory.
- Certain toys can see bigger discounts in mid-December or right before Christmas, especially as stores scramble to clear shelves.
If you’re not chasing a specific, high-demand toy, there’s a decent chance you’ll see similar or better pricing later.
2. Fitness Equipment & Seasonal Gear
- Treadmills, exercise bikes and other fitness equipment usually see steeper markdowns around New Year’s, when health resolutions kick in.
- Cold-weather and seasonal items can also be better buys toward the end of the season.
3. Mattresses
While many mattress brands run Black Friday deals, history shows that holiday weekends like Presidents Day often rival or beat November pricing, depending on the brand and model. Consumer organizations like Consumer Reports regularly track mattress pricing patterns and offer guidance on when to buy and what to avoid.
If you’re not in an urgent situation, it may pay to compare deals now and again in February.
How To Tell If A Deal Is Real
Because dynamic pricing is everywhere, one of the smartest moves is to track price history rather than trusting the “% off” claim on the page. A few popular tools:
- CamelCamelCamel – Tracks Amazon prices over time so you can see if this “sale” price is truly low or just a small dip.
- Honey / PayPal Honey – Known for auto-applying coupons, it also shows price history and alerts for drops at multiple major retailers.
- Other browser extensions and comparison tools track prices across different stores, helping you spot when one retailer is quietly undercutting the rest.
For general guidance on avoiding deceptive “fake sales” and making safer online purchases, the Federal Trade Commission offers practical tips on spotting misleading discounts, hidden fees and scam sites.
Big Picture: Shoppers Are Cautious, But Determined
Despite economic uncertainty, awareness of major sale events remains extremely high:
- 96% of consumers recognize Black Friday
- 84% know about Cyber Monday
- Around 33% are aware of Singles’ Day, an event that’s been growing in international visibility
And even with tighter budgets, about 79% of consumers who know about these events say they still plan to shop. Flexible payment tools are also changing how people spend:
- During the 2024 holiday season, shoppers using “buy now, pay later” services like Afterpay generated billions in sales, and retailers saw a notable lift in overall spending compared with the prior year.
As Tanuj Parikh, head of commercial for North America at Cash App Commerce, put it, shoppers are approaching this season with “caution and determination.” People want to enjoy the holidays — but they also want control, transparency and flexibility.
How To Shop Smart In A Confusing Black Friday World
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sales barrage, here’s a quick strategy:
- Decide your must-buy categories in advance (TVs, laptop, fridge, etc.) and focus your research there.
- Use price trackers to check if today’s “deal” really beats the last 6–12 months of pricing.
- Set a total budget, not just a per-item budget, so you don’t get nickeled-and-dimed by “small” add-ons.
- Avoid panic-buying just because a timer is counting down — many deals reappear or roll into Cyber Monday and beyond.
- If you use BNPL or installment tools, make sure the payments comfortably fit your monthly budget.
Black Friday has evolved from a one-day rush into a full pricing maze, but you don’t have to play on hard mode. With a little planning, some tracking tools, and a solid budget, you can still take advantage of the best deals without feeling cornered by “limited-time” pressure.
