Black Friday – Will You Bite?

Retail watchers have a hunch there might be a boom in Black Friday sales in Canada this year, based on an increase in sales in each of the last four years. But they recommend you keep your wits about you if you’re jumping into the fray. Things to be wary of:

• the fear of missing out –  it helps to understand that the vast majority of holiday sales are carefully planned long in advance of the season. With few exceptions, retailers have ample supplies of what they expect to be top sellers; in all likelihood you’ll be able to find the best gifts in stock somewhere during the course of the holidays
• too much bargain hunting – consumers  heavily bargain-focused spend more total money shopping than others, which means they see and therefore often want and buy more merchandise
• ignoring the fine print – bargains often come with strings attached; the most problematic of these issues is a no-return policy, a short return window, or returns that only qualify for merchandise credit
• considering price over value – during frenzied moments, people can lose focus on what they’re buying and end up with gifts in search of a recipient rather than a thoughtfully chosen gift for someone on your list