While retailers moving the start of Black Friday to Thanksgiving Day has made headlines in recent years, for consumers doing their Black Friday shopping online, the big day to start shopping is actually one day earlier - on the day before Thanksgiving.
The Wednesday of Black Friday week has become the hottest online shopping day of the year for elite deal hunters and for good reason - it's the day that most of the bigger retailers will put their Black Friday ad items online. By Thanksgiving morning, many of the best deals will already be sold out.
The staff of GottaDeal.com looked at both the popularity of the deals posted on the site's homepage, measured by clicks per hour, as well as the sales generated through the links on the site. The results show that the 24-hour period starting the night beforeThanksgiving is the clear winner when it comes to both the quantity and quality of online bargains.
"Many online shoppers have traditionally started their online shopping after Thanksgiving dinner," says Brad Olson, Owner ofGottaDeal.com. "We're trying to let them know that most of the online Black Friday sales will actually begin on Wednesday night, so they should be in front of a computer, tablet or smartphone getting ready. We hear from visitors every year who woke up onThanksgiving Day only to discover the best deals had sold out."
To help shoppers who may be overwhelmed by the deals, GottaDeal.com has an online Black Friday tracker, which shows a schedule of when each store is scheduled to put their Black Friday sale online, along with lists of the items that can be ordered at the sale prices. They also offer a dedicated online Black Friday message board where shoppers can discuss the online sales. Site visitors can also sign up to get emailed when new sales go live on the retailer's web site.
Mr. Olson gives his tips for having a successful online Black Friday: "Plan ahead, be available on Wednesday night, and use the features on GottaDeal.com to stay informed of when sales will start so you don't miss out on the best deals. We expect retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us and countless others to put their Black Friday deals online the night before Thanksgiving."
The site has also published a set of online Black Friday tips and tricks to help shoppers score the best deals.
Source: GottaDeal.com
