Is there such a thing as a true “Black Friday” deal on Friday anymore?
Maybe there is, but shoppers do not have to wait for the day after Thanksgiving to score the lowest prices on hot items.
The owner of GottaDeal.com, a website that for the past 11 years has featured advertising circulars from major retailers, says the best day to shop online for Black Friday deals is actually the day before Thanksgiving, according to the site's tracking.
"We're predicting that the Wednesday of that week will be the best day if shoppers want to get the Black Friday deals online," Brad Olson said.
The website has published several of this year's Black Friday advertisements already, including a 64-page ad from Kohl’s. The site also has preview sale ads from JCPenney, Dollar General, Rite Aid, Tractor Supply, Pier 1 Imports and many more.
Olson said traffic is already up this year.
"We don't disclose numbers, but I can say that traffic this year is higher at this point than we saw last year and overall we have millions of unique visitors each year," Olson said.
He expects online shopping the week of Black Friday 2014 to be even bigger.
GottaDeal.com also tracks the most wanted items sought by shoppers.
Another website devoted to the shopping holiday, BlackFriday.com, has a list of dates for Black Friday all the way through 2023. (It also has a Black Friday app.)
Online retailers have spent the past few weeks sending emails to announce deals already available to shoppers. Amazon.com has a “Countdown to Black Friday Deals Week,” but the site is offering deals during the countdown, not just when it ends.
“Stop by each day through November 28 for early Black Friday deals,” the site tells shoppers. It also says the site has “made Cyber Monday 2014 a whole week, too."
Want to get the Sunday newspaper ads and coupons without paying for the newspaper? Our new Shop Smart page has many of the same ads you get in the Sunday newspaper each week and maybe some you don't get, including Target, JCPenney, Dollar General, RadioShack and Petsmart.
