(Newswire.net — October 7, 2014) — Retailers brought a record number of advertised Black Friday deals in 2013 (+37,000 vs. 27,209 in 2012), with more than 13,000 Black Friday budget deals under $20 and more than 3,500 doorbusters for early shoppers. A late Nov. 28 Thanksgiving Day led to a longer than usual period of early Black Friday sales, and the majority of top stores offering most of their Black Friday deals online pre-Thanksgiving on Wednesday. While the big three of Best Buy, Walmart and Target focused on product deals, other top Black Friday ads from Kohl’s, Macy’s, toys R Us and Sears put a bigger emphasis on store discounts that rewarded existing store card members with additional savings.
With Thanksgiving coming late again in 2014, FatWallet Black Friday PREDICTIONS for retailers projects for even heavier , early ad campaigns, concentrated in more online and mobile channels. More than a dozen top retailers will offer holiday shoppers a Black Friday “week”, starting public sales and deals online as early as the weekend before Thanksgiving Day. “Although some limited quantity early Black Friday deals are very good, the majority of shoppers will wait for total retail participation and hedge bets for better deals on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday,” stated a FatWallet.com spokesperson.
More than 40,000 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will be advertised to shoppers in 2014, with in-store gift cards and store-wide discounting used to help reduce MSRP pricing, especially on Black Friday tablets deals, popular mobile tech and thousands of clothing, toys and home items. Bigbox stores will again offer card members early access to their Black Friday doorbusters, and the Walmart Black Friday ad will be leaked exclusively to their site members, “VIP” and new/early signup initiatives become standard practice for number of aggressive retailers this year. In addition, although controversial, early Thanksgiving store hours are likely to increase with many stores pushing their Black Friday discounts on Wednesday or earlier this year.
To read the full 2014 Black Friday Predictions and review of the Top 10 Retailers from 2013, visit FatWallet Consumer News Trends.

 

About this Series: FatWallet.com reviews the top stores, brands, products and deals from the 2013 holiday shopping season and forecasts Black Friday Predictions for 2014. Series content is based on 2013 sales and shopping activity from FatWallet’s Black Friday Ads (and Mobile App: iOS/Android) which featured 37,000 deals, 7,000 Doorbusters, 13,000 deals under $20 and +110 retailer ad flyers (including Thanksgiving Sales and 2013 Cyber Monday Deals).
 
About FatWallet: As the preferred online resource for millions of savvy consumers, FatWallet rewards consumers by providing cash back on purchases while also providing access to thousands of coupons, discounts, and promotions at over 1,500 retailers including eBay, Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon. The FatWallet forums represent the pulse of an evolving online marketplace where savvy shoppers gather to share and learn.