Welcome to November! For avid shoppers and deal-hunters, this month is the main event. After all, it contains Black Friday (and all the early-hype sales leading up to to it), and Cyber Monday!
Using our internal discount data, we calculated the average discounts November shoppers can expect in popular categories. Based on that, these are the top categories to shop this month:
When to Start Shopping for the Holidays
If you’re wondering how early is “too early” to start shopping for the holidays, the answer is, “What are you waiting for?” Shoppers (according to our survey) are getting an early start, and so are retailers. check some must-haves off your list as soon as possible. Then, you can treat Black Friday and Cyber Monday as your final rounds for extra deal-hunting and self-gifting.
Whenever you shop, be sure to activate cash back offers at all the retailers you plan to hit up. That way you’ll automatically get a percentage of what you spend BACK in your pocket.
The 5 Best Things to Buy in November
While this year has been challenging for the retail industry, stores will offer plenty of ways to save this month. We looked at our internal data to find out the average discounts for top items in November — so make sure the categories below are at the top of your shopping list.
1. Health & Beauty (Average Discount: 27% Off)
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge days for beauty retailers, so expect chains (like Ulta and Sephora) to throw sales. Ulta is known for offering 50% off select beauty sets and styling tools during its Black Friday sale, for example. And small niche brands will be offering discounts as well.
So, whether you plan to buy holiday beauty gift sets for your nearest and dearest, or need to restock your own skincare products, expect a LOT of otherwise pricey brands to move into your price range. And don’t forget about free gifts with purchase. Beauty stores often throw in travel-sized products with specific purchases during their Black Friday sales. It’s those little extras that make holiday shopping so fun.
Looking to improve your health in the new year? Fitness and outdoors retailers will have discounts on exercise equipment (in fact, Black Friday is one of the best times to shop for massage guns). And, because pretty much everyone has to have a sale on Black Friday, supplements and vitamins will be on sale from big-box retailers, Amazon and other sites that sell those products. Black Friday is the perfect time to stock up.
2. Clothing (Average Discount: 27% Off)
A new season means you need a new wardrobe, whether you’re planning to head out into the cold or stay cozy at home in your sweatpants. While you usually want to wait until just after a new season to shop for apparel, Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring a unique opportunity — plenty of in-season winter styles will be on sale, from boots to coats to sweaters. Plus, high-priced luxury items will likely see healthy discounts that bring them into your price range. And stores are known for offering Cyber Monday promo codes worth 15% off or more on your entire cart.
The fact that clothing deals are so good this time of year makes clothing a great self-gifting category. In fact, our holiday survey found that 47% of shoppers plan to buy clothing for themselves during Black Friday and other holiday sales this season.
Keep in mind that deals on clothing vary widely. While you will find discounts on cold-weather clothing, there will be even bigger discounts (think upwards of 70% off) on clearance items. So, while the average discount is 27%, by shopping smart and finding those savings sweet spots, you can save much more.
3. Computers and Electronics (Average Discount: 22% Off)
Electronics (from TVs to smart home gadgets to tablets to earbuds) are some of the most-hyped Black Friday buys. And that’s not just empty hype — the deals are great, too. Whether you’re self-gifting yourself a new gadget or seeking cheap AirPods for a loved one (we saw Airpods below $90 last year for Black Friday), you can expect some of the best prices of the year. Need to upgrade your laptop or your kid’s tablet? Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best (if not THE best) days to shop for those (we typically see up to 50% off Amazon’s Fire Tablets). And don’t forget about smart home and smart security — all of Amazon’s and Google’s smart speakers, smart displays, smart thermostats and video doorbells will be heavily discounted (and, in some cases, bundled with freebies like smart bulbs).
And then there are the TVs. TVs are such a deeply rooted Black Friday tradition, that retailers know they need to bring their A-game. There will be the headline-making doorbusters of course (huge TVs for just a couple hundred bucks). But we suggest going for a higher quality set. The price tag will be higher, but the discount will still be big and you’ll be getting better value.
Finally, if you need to upgrade your laptop or gaming rig, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are THE time. The super-cheap price tags you’ll see in retailers’ Black Friday ads are for skimpier specs. But you can use Black Friday discounts as an excuse to upgrade your storage and processing power and still save hundreds of dollars.
4. Travel (Average Discount: 19% Off)
If you’re itching to get away, start browsing for travel deals in November. To be clear, you’ll want to look for travel deals on post-holiday travel. You may not have much luck on deals over the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas week period, due to the high demand for this period (although there are some ways to snag a Thanksgiving or holiday rental car discount). But deals on post-holiday travel will be abundant because Black Friday and Cyber Monday are treasure troves of travel savings, especially for trips in the new year. Travel providers know the early-year travel slump is imminent, so they’re eager to fill cruise cabins, resorts and plane seats while people are in the mood for self-gifting and the post-holiday hangover effect hasn’t taken hold/
To save the most, shop for “vacation package deals” during Cyber Weekend. Package deals involve bundling flight, hotel and rental car booking together for a cost that’s less than booking all those things separately.
5. Gifts (Average Discount: 19% Off)
You’ll start seeing plenty of giftable items going on sale in November — especially during Black Friday sales. Think toys, holiday beauty gift sets, PJ sets, fragrances and more. Small giftable home goods (like countertop electronics and small gadgets) will also be on sale with discounts upwards of 50% off during Black Friday and Cyber weekend. If you miss these deals in November, you’ll have another chance later in the season. Any type of “gift set” will be massively discounted in stores in the days before Dec. 25, as retailers want that stuff out.
Gifting toys this year? You won’t likely see big discounts later in the season because, as our expert tells us, retailers are trying not to be overstocked at the end of the season — so they’ll be trotting out discounts early. That makes Black Friday a strategic time to shop, as toy retailers will be in endgame mode.
Honorable Mention: Genealogy Kits
Maybe it’s the fact that the holidays get people thinking about family. Or perhaps it’s because DNA-testing kits are highly giftable. In any case, genealogy kits go on sale like clockwork during the holidays and on Black Friday. They might not be the most glamorous Black Friday buy (that honor goes to TVs and gaming systems), but prices get slashed by 40% or more, making them a very smart (and giftable!) purchase.
Check out 23andMe and Ancestry, in particular. They have solid reputations, and the kits reliably go on sale on Amazon in the leadup to the holidays.
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