This year, Black Friday is infringing on Thanksgiving Thursday as stores are starting their sales earlier and earlier to keep up with the competition. While many stores enjoy the increased traffic associated with Black Friday sales, there were a few that made out decidedly more than their competitors in the past. Below we’ve compiled the top 5 stores from Black Friday 2012. These are some to keep your eye on for even more competitive discounts this year:
5.) Fry’s Eletronics
Fry’s Electronics may not be a household name here in the Midwest, but the West Coast-based electronic store did pretty well on Black Friday in 2012. In 2012, customers enjoyed deals on televisions and laptops, with most deals having free or low cost nationwide shipping. What makes Fry’s Electronics strategy unique is that the majority of their deals were featured on the Saturday after Black Friday. This shop certainly wasn’t jumping on the early-open bandwagon.
4.) newegg
newegg is an online electronic store that offers deals on laptops, computer parts, software and more. In 2012, newegg also avoided the early-open bandwagon and featured most of its best deals on Black Friday. While newegg used mail-in rebates to provide their customers with the lowest prices, the company did offer a number of good non-rebate deals, such as a dual-core-equipped 16” laptop with Windows 8.
3.) Best Buy
While Best Buy had a significant decline in popularity in 2012. People were still anxious to get the best deals on electronics and games for their Christmases. The store offered discounted video games, movies, televisions, and laptops. They also offered many of their best deals on Thanksgiving, but fell short on the actual Black Friday. They’re anticipated to increase their deals this year to compete with Amazon.
2.) Walmart
It’s unsurprising that the retail giant appears on this list. While Walmart still lags far behind Amazon in the companies with the best Black Friday sales, their aggressive tactics ensured them a number 2 spot in most popular Black Friday sales. Last year, Walmart was most popular with families shopping for toys, and it was also popular with younger generations for looking for smartphones. While the company offered good deals on Thanksgiving in 2012, they saved their best for Black Friday. They’re even anticipated to release even more deals this year to compete with online companies.
1.) Amazon
The online marketplace takes the number 1 spot in this list. Their diverse stock and noteworthy deals attract many customers every Black Friday. Like Walmart, Amazon also offered deals on Thanksgiving day, but saved their best deals for Thanksgiving. Their aggressive price matching strategies meant that they easily beat out BestBuy and Walmart in providing the best deals.