NerdWallet: Buy this, not that: What to shop for and what to skip on Black Friday this year

This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet.  Retailers like Amazon, Target
TGT,
+4.32%
and Walmart
WMT,
-0.02%
pushed October sales as an early start to the holiday shopping season again this year. But only about a quarter of Amazon
AMZN,
+2.25%
Prime Big Deal Days shoppers used the Oct. 10-11 event to buy holiday gifts, according to a survey of verified buyers from market research firm Numerator.

The rest might be waiting for Black Friday—Nov. 24 this year—to get the gift list going. If that’s you, here’s a short list of what to buy (or skip) during the traditional start to holiday shopping, which is the sale period that includes Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Nov. 27). See: Spending like crazy? Struggling between paydays? Consumers are sending mixed signals ahead of the holidaysBuy: TVs and big-ticket tech This one is no secret, but you may be looking for confirmation: Black Friday is still the “sweet spot” for TVs, says Trae Bodge, shopping expert from truetrae.com. “Yes, we saw some TVs on sale over Amazon [Prime Big Deal Days], but I really think that we’ll see better deals over Black Friday.” Expect discounts on electronics like laptops, wireless headphones and soundbars at all the usual big-box stores. And if you need more time to save for the right size and model TV, the next best time to buy is around the Super Bowl. You might like: Apple’s iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 13: Is the upgrade worth it?Skip (for a couple of weeks): Toys and holiday decor Toys aren’t off limits on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but you may save more if you wait a couple of weeks for when retailers start to sweat. It’s better to hold off on holiday decorations too, if you can. Bodge says there’ll be better prices on kids’ toys and holiday decorations as December wears on. “I like to wait on those things because as we get closer to the Christmas holidays, that’s when retailers are going to be scrambling to get rid of that stuff to clear space for the new year,” she says.Buy: Small kitchen appliances NerdWallet’s latest holiday sale price-tracking data shows Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring great deals on kitchen gadgets. Prices on the three kitchen items NerdWallet watched since late last year — which included a Ninja air fry oven, KitchenAid mixer and Nespresso coffee machine — hit bottom dollar last Cyber Monday. The price of the KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, for example, dropped to $220.99 at Target (down from its $329.99 retail price) last Cyber Monday. Also on MarketWatch: Contaminated eye drops from Walmart, CVS and Target linked to factory in India where workers reportedly went barefoot and faked safety checksSkip: Sporting goods Some sporting goods are hard to wrap and hide. That may be reason enough to wait until closer to Christmas. Another reason is based on data from software company Adobe’s
ADBE,
+2.37%
holiday season forecast for online shopping. The compan …

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