Archive: Business & Technology

Each year Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and scurry for Black Friday deals the next day. The best discounts are on computer equipment, phones, clothing, and accessories. But shoppers scoop up deals on everything from toys to appliances, jewelry to books. A new Wallethub analysis finds that the best Black Friday deals at retailers can be found aqt JCPenny stores, which has the highest overall discount rate of 56.71% (as compared to the overall average discount rate of 32%.

Another Wallethub analysis finds that New York is the 4th safest state to spend Thanksgiving, after Vermont, Mmaine, and New Hampshire.  if you were planning a trip to New Mexico or South Dakota, forget about it!  They were ranked the least safe of the 50 states.

According to the report, the 'Computer & Phones' category has one of the biggest shares of discounted items, 15.85 percent of all offers, whereas the 'Books, Movies & Music' category has the smallest at 2.74 percent.

Discounts may vary at the different retailers, in terms of which categories have the best deals. The best discounts at Best Buy, for example, are in the 'Video Games Software' category, averaging 50.45%, followed by the 'Books,Movies, and Music' category, averaging 48.41%. Big Lots' best deals are on furniture, averaging 20.06%. JCPenny's average discount on Jewelry is 57.02%.

If you're looking for the best deals on computers and phones, Belk tops the list with average discounts of 45.45. Belk also has high average discounts for consumer electronics (46.12%) and toys (49.09%). Others with strong discounts on computers and phones are Lenovo, JCPenny, Kohl's, and Walmart.

My wife,who holds a black belt in shopping, says that Black Friday shopping is for amateurs. She advises waiting until after the holiday buying season when stores discount merchandise to make room on their shelves for new stock. But if you are a savvy shopper, Black Friday deals can offer big savings.

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