Originally published by WalletHub.
Black Friday shopping is one of America’s most popular holiday traditions, but there’s always a bit of hassle involved. Traditionally, shoppers have to get up early, stand in endless lines at stores and try to find deals through hordes of other shoppers — all in the name of savings. In 2023, though, Americans shopped from home on Black Friday more than they did in stores, with 76.2 million people getting their deals in person and 90.6 million making purchases online.
Black Friday sales have also been changing during the past few years. They are starting earlier, with some retailers starting their early holiday sales as early as October. That’s good news for consumers who want to stretch out their purchases over a longer period of time rather than buying everything in one day.
So which stores offer the best discounts, and for which items? To answer that question and help consumers maximize their Black Friday savings, WalletHub surveyed over 4,300 deals from 13 of the biggest U.S. retailers’ 2024 Black Friday ad scans. Below, we’ve listed the stores offering the largest advertised discounts in various product categories such as jewelry and appliances.
“The best Black Friday deals can save you up to 88% this year, but when you’re bombarded by ads and there are so many places to shop, it can be hard to decide where to actually spend your money. Knowing which retailers actually offer significant deals compared to their normal prices can save you a lot of time and prevent buyer’s remorse. This year, the stores offering the top deals are JCPenney, Belk and Macy’s.”
Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
In-Depth Look at the Best Black Friday Retailers in 2024
JCPenney
JCPenney is the best place to shop on Black Friday because it offers an average discount of 76.2%. This is the sixth time JCPenney has earned the top spot in this report since 2014.
JCPenney offers some steep discounts on extremely expensive items this year, too. If you’re ready to propose to that special someone, you can get an $18,749.98 diamond engagement ring for just $3,799.99. In addition to significant markdowns on jewelry and apparel, JCPenney has great deals on appliances, offering savings of 58.5% on average.
Belk
Belk is the second-best Black Friday retailer, even though it only has physical locations in 16 states, much fewer than the other top two stores. At Belk, you’ll receive an average of 72.7% off your purchases, and you can still take advantage of deals online if you don’t have a location near you.
If you’re in the market for jewelry, you’ll definitely want to consider Belk on Black Friday. You can save an average of 77.08%, which is considerably more than the average jewelry discount offered among all stores (59.7%). Other good categories to shop for at Belk include apparel and consumer electronics such as TVs, digital cameras and electric shavers.
Macy’s
Macy’s has the third-best Black Friday discounts this year, saving you an average of 57.1% and as much as 85% on certain items. The store’s best deals by far are on jewelry, which will be 70% off, on average.
Macy’s is also known for its furniture selection, and that’s the second-best product category for Macy’s Black Friday discounts, with items marked down by an average of 52.6%.
Notes:
- The pie chart above displays the product categories in which discounts are more heavily concentrated, represented in percentage terms. The percentages do not represent average discounts.
- The bar graph above displays the average discount percentage for each product category.
