Black Friday sees sluggish start as more US consumers shop online

The frenzy associated with Black Friday shopping was missing this year as US retailers offered earlier discounts and more consumers shopped online, though spot checks around the country showed traffic picked up after a sluggish morning.

"It's slow now because we had a big, big rush last night," said Target electronics salesman Evan Houser, 22, in Chicago.

Black Friday remains important for holiday shopping but its relevance is fading amid early promotions, with six fewer sales days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

That has pulled spending forward. More than half of consumers polled by the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the first week of November had begun making purchases.

"We've seen many merchants start their promotions pretty much right after the trick-or-treaters have gone to bed," said Lauren Bitar, head of retail consulting at analytics firm RetailNext.

Visits to retailers showed more shoppers after a sluggish start Friday - but frantic crowds were nowhere to be seen.

"We tend to have more deals in-store so people come in rather than go online ... the only problem today is we didn't expect how slow it would be," said Mariah Berry, 22, a trainee supervisor at a Chicago Uniqlo.

While store traffic still remains an important indicator, a lot of Black Friday shopping now happens online. Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 US online retailers, estimates $7.5 billion in online sales for Black Friday, up 20.5% year-over-year.

US online sales on Thanksgiving Day jumped 17% to $4.1 billion, according to Salesforce. Global online revenue rose ever faster.

Walmart Inc , Target Corp , Costco Wholesale Corp and Best Buy Co Inc have bulked up their online presence, deliveries and in-store pickups.

Some shoppers worried that tariffs on Chinese imports would make holiday shopping more expensive, though many large retailers have not raised prices to protect margins.

"There were definitely some concerns about prices due to what we see in the news about the trade war, but I haven't seen the impact yet," said Jay Smith, 28, who was shopping for clothes and toys at a Macy's in Pentagon City, Virginia.

To keep foot traffic flowing, retailers at Hudson Yards in New York are offering "doorbuster" deals, said Marie Driscoll, managing director of luxury and fashion at Coresight Research. At Tapestry's Coach, a $300 handbag was $99 until noon.

Other shoppers were skeptical about how good the deals really are.

"I will come to the mall, look at prices and go back and check them online," said Dick Doyle, 76, who was at a Modell's Sporting Goods in Virginia, while his wife was next door at Nordstrom Rack .

If you want one of these things, wait until Black Friday

Amazon’s Black Friday can be a bit like going to the grocery store while hungry and without a list: You end up with a full shopping cart of things you don’t really want or need. So lest you end up regretting overpaying for that bubblegum-pink ice cream maker, create a list beforehand and log on with a game plan.

To help you prep, I consulted my colleague, Wirecutter Deals editor Nathan Burrow. Based on his years of experience scouring sites for the lowest prices in November for the Wirecutter Deals page, he’s found that you can’t go wrong in these categories.

Small kitchen appliances

Kitchen Appliances, Microwave oven, oven, gadgets, appliancesKitchen appliances

Great news for home cooks: There is likely no better time of year to buy kitchen appliances than on Black Friday and during Cyber Week, with the best deals curated in Wirecutter’s guide to the Best Kitchen and Household Deals. No matter the appliance, it would be rare to find it at a lower price than you will in November. You can find everything from stand mixers to pressure cookers to blenders to waffle makers — just make sure you pick a model that has been vetted and recommended by experts.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers

Smart watch, gadgets, technologySmartwatch

Maybe you want a smartwatch to monitor your heart rate during your workouts. Maybe you’re a tech junkie, always itching for the newest gadgets. Or maybe you just like the way they look.

Whatever your reasoning for wanting a smartwatch, Black Friday will be the time to finally buy one. If you’re already embedded into Apple culture and don’t care about having the newest release, know that, in Wirecutter’s preview of the best Apple deals, Burrow predicts we’ll see heavy price drops on the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 3 this holiday season, since the Series 5 was introduced. Apple isn’t always known for offering great holiday discounts, but Apple Watches tend to be an exception. If you’re not invested in Apple products, Android smartwatches and wearable fitness trackers will also see substantial discounts.

Everyday carry items

Gadgets, technology, appliances, electronics

What does a travel mug, a set of Bluetooth earbuds, and a Bluetooth tracker for your keys have in common? They’re all supremely useful items that will probably fall to their lowest prices during Black Friday and Cyber Week. This is likely because they’re small and relatively inexpensive — and because almost anyone can use them (making them the perfect gift).

Amazon-branded products

There are two times a year when you’ll find the best prices on Amazon-branded merchandise: Amazon’s own Prime Day and Black Friday.

If you’ve been thinking about making the switch to e-readers, for instance, now would be the time to buy the Kindle you’ve been eyeing. Burrow also predicts that Amazon’s discounts will include the lowest prices yet for the newly released third-generation Echo and Echo Dot — a great opportunity to build the smart home of your dreams for a fraction of the original price.

Since the next Prime Day likely won’t be until July 2020, Burrow points out that this is probably your best chance to save on some Amazon-branded products until well into next year.

Televisions (kind of)

Gadgets, technology, appliances, electronics, LED TVs, smart TV, TelevisionA lot of people think Black Friday is the best time to buy a TV. They’re only partially right: Historically, major brand names haven’t seen exceptional sales on their high-end televisions, but substantial deals on slightly lower-end models do pop up.

If name brands don’t mean much to you and you’re looking for the most screen real estate for the lowest price, you’ll find tons of blowout deals. But if you want a good deal on a top-of-the-line TV, Black Friday likely won’t provide the prices you have in mind, a trend Wirecutter picked up on around TV pricing for Prime Day as well. That said, last year Burrow saw discounts on select Samsung, TCL, and Vizio models that knocked a few hundred dollars off their price tags.