Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: How to Win the Best Deals

Ready or not, the late-November shopping blockbuster is about to kick into high gear.

Every year the Black Friday Shopping Season (Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday) gives consumers the best chance to buy some of the hottest deals on pretty much everything. No matter whether it's the electronics, large appliances or the soft goods like clothing or shoes.  You are sure to find real bargains.

However, if you are thinking about which day is the best for getting the largest discounts, the answer will be "It just depends".  Yes, that means that the deals differ each day.  Some products may be better to buy on Black Friday, whilst others will sell at a lower price on Thanksgiving or Cyber Monday. Moreover, the differences will often be down to whether you would like to shop on-line or shop in-store.

So this blog is here to offer you some help and advice.  Whether you want to grab the best deals for yourself or save on the biggest on gifts for your family or friends, the credit cards will appreciate you more during this shopping carnival.

1. What’s Special On Each Day Of the Black Friday Season

Black Friday actually spans more than one single day.  In fact, it has now grown into a whole ‘season’ and this started a long time ago.  As I mentioned above, this ‘season’ actually involves both Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.  So, how do these three go together to offer the best deals?

#Thanksgiving Day

In order to take advantage of Black Friday Season, consumers are generally inclined to shop early and therefore prepare their to-buy lists quite often when the first Black Friday ad is leaked.  The day before Black Friday, Thanksgiving, then becomes the ideal time when everybody can get a day off to enjoy Turkey and shopping.

Besides, waking up at 4 a.m. and putting up with the cold, chaos and crowds is certainly not liked by many.  And so it is, more and more shops offer (or take) the chance to open on Thanksgiving, which means that the shopping turns a whole family activity.  Which also has the great effect of increasing the amount revenue taken.

So, no one will be surprised to find that retailers remain open on Thanksgiving Day. As a matter of fact, if they did not, people would be really annoyed if the shops they love closed on this day.

#Black Friday

For the public, Black Friday is a traditional day for massive sales.  More than 60% of the shoppers out there tend to grab ‘door busting’ deals.

You can often save big on products like electronics or kitchen appliances on Black Friday. It gives you the chance to touch and try out products before buying them and there is no need to worry about cancelled orders or the shipping costs.  What could be more exciting is that, there are often exclusive in-store deals which are unavailable online or simply unadvertised surprises.  These belong to those wait in line before dawn!

No matter what people are battling for in a line for on Black Friday, the fact is, they are ready to pay and as reported by Guardian, American Black Friday in-store revenue reached $10.4 billion in 2015.

#Cyber Monday

If you are the one who cooks ten individual turkey dinners and reluctantly battle those crowds, then Cyber Monday is a pleasant alternative to shop on computers or mobile devices.

When compared to shopping in-store, online shopping is far more rational.  A recent study found 25% of shoppers spent more money than intended buying items online, as opposed to 40% of in-store shoppers (this might be because they can compare prices online whilst the in-store shoppers may think that every item is a bargain and worth buying in the bricks-and-mortar store).

Furthermore; Cyber Monday has the most online sales but fewer marketing ads. Interestingly, some people are just into shopping at work (really, that’s not a joke), they go back to work on Monday and then dive straight into the sales on their computers. It’s one of those favored moments of ecstasy for fashionistas on account of the large discounts on beauty products, clothing and shoes.

All three seem tempting and good for your wallet, but you have to agree that “the more you save the better it is”.  So we need to do a little more investigation.  Read on and I’ll help you to become the smartest buyer.

2.Which One Is The Winner: Thanksgiving vs. Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday

Thanksgiving is the winner.

Yes, that’s it. A study from DealNews announced that.

Maybe you have always taken it for granted that Black Friday is the best day to score the best deals on simply everything.  When actually, the truth is, Thanksgiving just won the battle for past four years in a row, according to the statistics from DealNews (As a deal site, it’s declared to be the No. 1 of the “TOP 10 Black Friday Sites List” by PC Mag). But how can this be?

According to DealNews, Black Friday harvested only 31% of the Editors’ Choice Deals last year. While on the contrary, its two siblings, Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday handed in better transcripts of 38% and 36%. That shows you a hint of type of deal differences that exist among the three days.

To our surprise, the one comes out on top during the national deal week is actually not Black Friday, but Thanksgiving.  Here is a good tip for you, don’t eat too much turkey on Turkey Day, there will be too many deals slipping away.

DealNews published its annual Black Friday Shopping Season predictions the other day, and you can click for more information.

In short, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are better for electronics and major appliances, while Cyber Monday is better for soft goods.  And if you are looking for a discount in a particular category, this table tells a lot.

But that’s not all!Why?

DealNews has worked out the results by analyzing their deal archives.  In other words, the above table shows the best online deals, only. There could be more exclusive ones in the brick-and-mortar stores, as mentioned earlier.  Alternatively, you may regard those who wait in line as ‘idiots'.

So this explains why Black Friday only appears on a few Editors’ Choice lists.  Because it focuses on awesome and alluring deals for those willing to brave the early morning in-store. This is the same for Turkey Day, although plenty of families love the turkey dinner, some would rather shop out.

If you are one of those, I can guess you may be in need of the store hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  Here goes it! (Information gathered from DealNews)

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Store Hours 2016

(Note that for above chart, a store opens on Thanksgiving till Friday, no close time was marked.  In addition, a store that opens overnight to Black Friday are vague about the close time, so they are marked as “open” only)

Regardless of the online deals or in-store deals, if you are someone who loves exploration and keen on grabbing a quick deal, Black Friday and Thanksgiving may cater to your needs. Whereas, if you would rather eat your turkey dinner than fight in the crowds, then Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday are right up your street.  Black Friday (and Thanksgiving) has the best product-level discounts, and Cyber Monday owns the most awesome store-wide discounts on categories like clothing and travelling.

Excited now?

With all the best online deals and store times in hand,  just hurry up and cross the to-buy lists!

(But be cautious not to do much impulsive buying and wipe out your cards to save.:-D)

-----Bottom Line-----

Since early November, my mailbox has flooded in with various promotional ads.  And each of them creates the feeling that it's offering the greatest discounts.  No doubt, you must have had similar feelings.  The problem is, if you just ignore it, will you miss a potential ‘greatest deal’.

But the truth is not like that.

So I decided to map out a guide for those desirable products.  In order to select the best buy, it did take me quite a while, because ‘deal guiding’ information doesn’t just fall from the sky.  

Fortunately, an idea just struck me.  Why not make equivalent discounts for each day?

If only you could save the same amount anytime, you wouldn’t waste your time comparing prices from various stores on-line or in-store.  Wouldn’t that be incredibly cool!

That's how PITAKA goes.

About offering what kinds of discounts, PITAKA thought it over and over again, trying to offer the real best deal. Then some consumers told us they would like to see the same saving for entire Black Friday shopping seasons and it’s too much hassle of comparing discounts. So PITAKA Crazy Sales Week came out.

From Nov. 21st to Nov. 28th, you can enjoy $12 OFF for ANY ORDER. Check out with code “CRAZYWEEK” and the saving belongs to you.

Seize now, or your deals are slipping away.