Black Friday, the most popular retail holiday of the year, is coming next week. Are you ready？
At first, let’s look back of the black Friday last year.
After taking a look at the shopping data, we can say that Black Friday 2017 definitely started off with a bang. Or, to be more exact, a click.
Criteo’s analysis reflects a healthy economy, the shift to online sales and the resurgence of retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and Target. For Black Friday, e-commerce showed a:
- +3.5% year over year increase in Shoppers
- +12.5% increase in the number of Purchasers
The greater increase in purchasers indicates that people had done their shopping earlier in the month but were ready to click the buy button when deals became available on Black Friday.
The sales also reflect the growing trend towards “phygital” commerce and “omnishopping”: shoppers using a variety of devices and channel to engage with products. Part of the retail resurgence in the US comes from major retailers making better use of their store footprints, a factor that Amazon’s 2017 expansion into “IRL” (or In Real Life) has underscored.
And while Black Friday 2017 was the biggest day in the history of e-commerce, purchasing for the holidays is occurring earlier and earlier each year, which is influenced by major retailers like Walmart and Target triggering Black Friday deals in advance of the official day. Criteo data was featured in this report on the changing dynamic of Black Friday on CNBC.
The data comes from Criteo’s Sponsored Products retail network, which in the US includes: Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Costco, Toys R Us, Wayfair, Kohl’s and Macy’s. The numbers Criteo is seeing are in line with spending projections from sources like eMarketer, which has estimated that holiday season e-commerce spending will increase 16.7% this year over last.
The shopping data for Black Friday 2017 revealed that the biggest deals of the day tended to be for high-ticket consumer electronics. Shoppers typically research early but hold out till Black Friday to complete the purchase. Here are the breakout products of Black Friday Week:
In a world of Alexa devices, the Google Home Mini: a $29 Bluetooth speaker/virtual assistant was the term with the greatest increase in rank during Black Friday week as compared to the first two weeks of November.
- Wearable electronics: Fitbits and Apple Watches were increasingly sought after.
- There were two breakout small appliances: the Instant Pot, a new wave pressure cooker, and the air fryer, a healthier alternative to deep fat models.
- While tablet sales overall have slowed, the iPad has successfully maintained its edge.
- Under Armour was the breakout apparel & accessories brand for holiday gifting, showing the biggest increase in interest during the week.
- The Fingerling monkey, the most sought after product of early November, has softened in interest, likely due to inventory challenges and the rising prices that resulted. Some models leapt from an MSRP of $14.95 to well over $100.
- There was increased interest in Xbox Games and Nintendo systems and Call of Duty WW2, which was released 2 weeks ago, shot up the list as top video game.
NOW LET’S LOOK FORWARD OUR PLAN FOR THE BLACK FRIDAY 2018
TVs were the top searched items during Black Friday week last year. And maybe this year it still will position top 1. So let’s begin with the TVs.
Top 5 TVs are worthy buying:
There is no doubt that Samsung is a leader in LCD and other Display technology. Samsung’s much-hyped QLED technology suddenly makes sense with the 65-inch 65Q9FN. By combining QLED’s unprecedented brightness and color talents with direct instead of edge backlighting, Samsung has hit on a winning, forward-thinking formula that delivers the best 4K high dynamic range pictures.
|
Pros |
Cons: |
| 5-inch: Samsung QE65Q9FN | Limited viewing angles |
| Spectacular HDR picture quality | |
| Powerful, well-rounded sound | |
| Good smart system |
LG Electronics, also a well-known tech company. It's here because it combines an impressive picture, an extensive set of features, an attractive design and its unrivaled smart platform, to deliver one of the best TVs we have seen to date. It’s not as bright as an LCD TV but those deep blacks make a huge difference to the dynamic range of the image. It’s also capable of vibrant and gorgeous colors, not to mention an astounding level of detail with native 4K content.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Superb picture quality | Limited peak brightness for HDR |
| Comprehensive features | No HDR10+ support |
| Highly effective smart platform |
- Sony Bravia A9F OLED (2018)
Sony’s second-generation OLED flagship, the A9F, is coming at a good time – just as Samsung and LG have stepped up their games with the Samsung Q9FN QLEDand LG E8 OLED, Sony has fired back with a phenomenal OLED of its own.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Impressive upscaling | Lean back design |
| Audio+ sound system | |
| Android Oreo smart platform |
The TCL 6-Series is the best TV under $1,000, period. Packing Wide Color Gamut, Dolby Vision and a full-array panel at just $650 for the 55-inch 55R617, this is the budget-friendly 4K TV that we’ll recommend to friends, family and readers for the rest of the year.
| Pros: | Cons |
| Outstanding bargain | Loss of darker details |
| Bright, colorful HDR | Limited motion settings |
| Supports Dolby Vision | Cable clutter in the back |
| Roku TV is amazing |
Vizio's 2018 P-Series is a great choice if you're after a TV that performs at an above-average level with great pricing. It has a number of top-shelf features with good black levels, but has its share of problems, too, like some audio reproduction issues and a slower operating platform.
| Pros | Cons |
| Beautiful color reproduction | SmartCast OS is slow |
| Stellar 4K HDR picture | |
| Solid HD upscaling |
OK, that’s the TVs we think are good for Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year.
Then, what’s NEXT? It’s the Bluetooth speaker. As a budget but cool product, Bluetooth speaker will be a quite good present for a friend or family members.
Anker is a big name in the electronics market and if you wish to get something from them, Anker Soundcore 2 is the best choice. This is a feature-rich Bluetooth speaker. The best feature is the long 24-hour battery life. So, just full charge the device and carry it with you all through the day. You will never run out of charge. It also features superior stereo sound to offer great music listening experience. Other interesting features include IPX5 water resistance, exclusive Bass up, excellent wireless speaker and more.
Better than most of wireless portable speaker, this 20 watt Bluetooth speaker owns a 4400mah battery, which means you can play music for a longer time, up to 25 hours at the volume of 70% or 6-8 hours at the max volume with full charge. So it especially suits for a trip, camp, and panic time, a golf time, a pool party and so on. Also it’s a perfect choice for those who like to enjoy the music from morning to evening.
IPX4 waterproof is weaker than the VTIN Portable Speaker’s IPX6, but it is still safe for poolside, beach, or a little rainy camp. Also, aux lets musics be played from non-Bluetooth devices.
The sound quality is amazing. It is a small sized Bluetooth speaker that is just perfect for traveling. JBL Clip 2 Bluetooth speaker is rated as IPX7, meaning it is water resistant. The battery life is eight hours once it is fully charged. With its affordable price and design, it is definitely one of the best speakers to buy.
If you are looking for a budget-friendly yet highly portable Bluetooth speaker, this one could be the right choice for you. You will get crystal clear sound without any distortion. As a plus point, this speaker comes with the FM radio. When you charge the device, you can listen to the music for 4-5 hours.
The VTIN portable Bluetooth speaker comes with a 3.5mm aux cord, and you can plug in directly to a phone or other non-Bluetooth or wireless devices. Besides, the Newest Bluetooth 4.2 Technology provides a quicker and more stable connection, which reduce the occurrence of disconnection.
Equipped with a 3.7V/2200mAh battery, this portable Bluetooth speaker can continuously play music up to 15H, suitable for people who need to use it whole day long. Recharge in with the included micro USB cable. The full charge will take 3.5 hours, and the red light will always on in the charging process. With less than $30, it is a cool choice, right?
Do you want a new laptop? Maybe one of them will be fit for you.
If your budget is enough, the first choice could be this one. The Mac OS is quite smooth.
- 6GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.3GHz
- Retina display with True Tone
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
- 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 memory
- 512GB SSD storage
- Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Backlit Keyboard - US English
The newly upgraded Razer Blade is the perfect laptop for creative pros or undercover gaming.
- Display size/resolution: 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 @144Hz display
- CPU: 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H
- Memory: 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,660MHz
- Graphics: 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Networking: 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth
- Operating system : Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
- Full review
This is a gorgeously-designed laptop with a stunning screen (albeit with a rather odd aspect ratio), and it comes packed with cutting edge components that allows it to perform brilliantly, and a battery life that runs rings around many of its rivals. It also has a very competitive price, giving you features, design and performance for quite a bit less money.
- CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7
- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 , Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5
- RAM: 8GB – 16GB
- Screen: 13.9-inch 3K (3,000 x 2,080)
- Storage: 512GB SSD
See full review.
The redesigned 2018 Dell XPS 13 was unveiled in January 2018 and released that same month. Touted as "the world's smallest 13-inch laptop," the XPS 13 is our top choice for a premium Windows ultraportable laptop at its size, due in part to its speedy performance and 12-hour battery life. That's not to say it's without competition, though.
- Display size/resolution : 13.3-inch 3,840x2,160 touch display
- CPU: 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U
- Memory: 16GB DDR3 SDRAM 2,133MHz
- Graphics: 128MB dedicated Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Networking: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1
- Operating system : Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
See full review.
Updated for 2017, Microsoft's tablet is still one of the best.
- Display size/resolution: 12-inch, 2,736x1,824 touch display
- PC CPU: 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-7600U
- PC Memory: 16GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,866MHz
- Graphics: 128MB (dedicated) Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Networking: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0
- Operating system: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
See full review
There are plenty of ways to scent your home, but some methods are easier — and safer — than others. If you've spent any time on the Internet lately, you know that essential oil diffusers are the newest trend and for a good reason: They disperse natural oils into the air and those oils are "chock-full of beneficial health-promoting ingredients," clinical aromatherapist Kirsten King told Allure.
So in the last part, I’d like to recommend some of VicTsing diffusers for you.
- The first choice would be VicTsing 300ml Cool Mist Humidifier Ultrasonic Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser (Wood Grain)
With 300mL reservoir, it can hold enough water for 10 hours of continuous output. Since it operates almost silently, and you can set its mood light to dim or off, this is the perfect choice for a bedroom.
If you don’t wish to run the diffuser for 10 hours, you can set it for shorter lengths of time, from 1 to 3 to 6 hours. And it’s not necessary to add essential oil for it to operate. You can simply use it as a cool mist humidifier.
- The 300 ml one is big for you? Here we have small ones, Victsing 150ml Mini Ultrasonic Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser, Wood Grain. and VicTsing 3rd Version Essential Oil Diffuser which have a more beautiful light. Although they only have a capacity of 150 ml, they can still work 4-5 hours with full tank.
Last but not least, here we provide 10 tips for black Friday.
- Shop using discounted gift cards
It is always fun to get a deal. It’s even better to get a great deal. A simple way to do this is to shop with discounted gift cards. Before you head out to shop, visit Raise.com to find discounted gift cards. You can find gift cards for hundreds of retailers.
- Sign up for emails
Decide which stores you will shop at this year. Visit each website and sign up for email newsletters. It is important that you do this at least two weeks before Black Friday. It can take time before the emails start to generate, so you want to allow ample time to get added to the list.
- Prioritize your shopping list
When making your list of items you need to buy, list them first by store and then by order of importance. This will put the “must find” items at the top so you can first focus on finding them as you visit each store. When you get there, first walk to that department to find the item you want.
- Have a backup plan
With the number of people shopping, there will be instances where you will not find the item you want. That means you need to have backup plan in place. Add a second item to your list, just in case you can’t find the one thing you really want.
- Browse deal website
If you choose shopping online, you can browse professional deal website like slickdeals, kinja etc. Also you can find deals on reddit which has some subreddits for deals. Maybe you can get some surprising deals there.
For subreddits, here we find some:
- If you want to buy some computer accessories:r/buildapcsales is cool.
- For common deals: there subreddits are OK:r/deals, r/DealsReddit
- Plan your shopping trip
Once you have your list ready, decide which stores you will need to visit first. I recommend you start with the one that has your must-have item. You can then figure out which ones to stop by after that. It might be based upon your list or a route.
- Leave the kids at home
If you prefer shopping offline, please remember to leave your kids at home. There would be lots of people on Black Friday. The safest place for kids will be the home.
- Get out early
It means less sleep, but the sooner you can get to the store, the more likely you will find the items you want. Plan on waking up early (or staying up really late) to get the items on your list.
- Follow your budget (and use cash)
Before you even make a list, you need to know your budget. Once that is set, get cash. Leave the credit cards at home. You’ll think more about every purchase and reduce impulse shopping if you have cash. There is no way you can overspend ‘ as you don’t have the money to do it.
- Shop with a friend
Not only is it more fun to shop with someone you love, but it can be helpful too! If there are a few must have items on your list, you can work together to find them. Your friend can visit the electronics section for the video game you want while you are in the toy aisle finding another item on your list.
Source: CNET, Criteo’s analysis