HOUSTON — You may still be working on your Thanksgiving dinner shopping list but Christmas shopping is about to kick into high gear.
Black Friday is the unofficial start of holiday shopping. It's when retailers unveil big deals to lure shoppers to their stores.
But experts are warning that those deals might not be deals at all. According to a WalletHub report in 2023, 35% of items offered no savings over their pre-black Friday prices.
So how does that work?
According to P.K. Kannan, a professor of marketing at the University of Maryland, some retailers may jack up the price and then offer a discount on the item. So you are really paying what the item usually costs, it just appears you are getting a great deal.
In order to make sure you are actually getting a discount you will have to do your homework. If you are looking at just one or two items you can do that homework yourself. Check the price before Black Friday so you know what it usually costs.
There are also browser extensions like Honey or Camelizer that do the homework for you, alerting you when there is an actual price drop. If you are braving the Black Friday crowds in person you can use the ShopSavvy app to compare prices.