T minus two days until the BIGGEST shopping day of the year—Black Friday! I know some people want to steer clear of all the Black Friday crowds but to me this is like my own personal SuperBowl lol. I love the excitement and energy of Black Friday; and I’m totally that person that wakes up and gets out the door before the sun comes up on Friday morning. After about ten years of braving the crowds and scouring the stores for all the best finds, I think I’ve got my Black Friday strategy down to a science (or at least a really solid plan of action, ha!). So today I want to share my top five Black Friday tips and tricks so that hopefully YOU can find all the best deals like a champ, and put a dent in your holiday shopping (while snagging a couple of finds for yourself, of course 😉 ). Also definitely scroll down to the end of this post for a comprehensive list of some of the best Black Friday 2017 sales! Get your game faces on girls. Black Friday is not for the weak ?
But First, Coffee
Whether you go out right after Thanksgiving dinner when the stores first open (can you believe stores are opening as early as 6 pm this year?!) or you’re in the midnight – 4 AM crowd like myself, coffee will be your best friend. It’s basically a tradition for me to stop and grab a nice, large hot coffee on my way to the mall every Black Friday. If you’re in the colder regions like myself, it’ll help warm you up and make you feel a bit more human; and at the very least, it’ll help keep you awake and alert so you can do your best shopping. I also like getting the coffee on my way TO the mall instead of AT the mall so that I can finish it before I get deep into shopping and I can have both hands free. #ProTip
Go In With a Game Plan
I know, I know. A game plan for shopping? It sounds hardcore but trust me, you’ll thank me later. Black Friday isn’t your mom’s average shopping trip. This is BLACK FRIDAY. The busiest, most chaotic, crowded and sensory-overload day ever! Every single store will be having deals and if you go in cold turkey, not only might you miss a great sale altogether, but you also may end up getting overwhelmed with everything going on and not get around to all of the stores you wanted to get to.
My advice is to first check out the Black Friday circular ads that have undoubtedly started arriving in the mail (Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, to name a few) so that you see what deals those retailers will have and which ones you want to add to your list. Next, go through your emails. I’m sure you’re on more than a few store email lists. Comb through your inbox to see what sales your favorite stores are having on Friday and add those to your list as well. Now you should have a comprehensive list of what stores you want to hit up on Friday, plus I like to also note what the deal is at that store so that I can quickly reference that list as I’m shopping.
Shopping in Rounds is a Good Idea
Another #ProTip over here. If, like me, you plan to head to a shopping mall or outlet mall where there are dozens upon dozens of stores, you may find yourself with too much to carry after you make your first few stops. I like to plan a sort of “half time” during my shopping trip to go take my shopping bags to the car, usually get something small to eat since I usually work up an appetite (ha!), and then resume my shopping. So I’ll put stores like Bath & Body Works (where I know I’ll stock up on candles which are super heavy to carry!) in the first half of my trip so that at “half time” I can go drop that bag off at the car and not have to worry about carrying those heavy candles around!
Don’t Forget About Cyber Monday!
Okay, obviously this is a Black Friday tips post but I also feel obligated to mention Cyber Monday! Stores are notorious for offering slightly better deals or even completely different deals on Cyber Monday, so if you miss a store on Black Friday or shopping malls aren’t your thing, Cyber Monday may be your best friend. It’s great for picking up anything that you missed in your original shopping trip, plus you can do it from the comfort of your own home! Win, win! (Just don’t forget to save some of that $$$ on Black Friday so that you can actually shop the Cyber Monday sales, ha!)
Speaking of Online Shopping…
And finally, my last #ProTip to surviving Black Friday 2017 is not to forget about online sales. Yes, there are Cyber Monday deals AND Black Friday online deals. Remember those emails I told you to go through in tip 2? Yeah, most of those deals you found are probably also online (save for any in-store only incentives they may be pushing). This means you can totally shop from the comfort of your own home after you get over your food coma from Thanksgiving; just don’t forget that you’ll still have to shop these sales pretty early to get the good stuff, just like if you were actually going out to the stores.
BLACK FRIDAY 2017 SALES
As promised, here are all of the sales that I will be shopping/think y’all should know about!
I’ll do my best to keep these updated as sales get announced.
Watch out for announcements on Instagram stories & Facebook when sales are added to this post!
Stay tuned for another post with Cyber Monday deals!
Boohoo: Take 50% off everything, valid 11/20-11/22.
Nike: Take an extra 25% off sale styles with code EPIC25. Valid through 11/28.
Shopbop: Take up to 75% off sale items and 30% off full-priced styles with code MORE17. Valid through 11/27.
Macy’s: Take 20% off Black Friday with code HURRY. Valid 11/22-11/25.
J.Crew: Take 40% off everything. Valid through 11/26.
Topshop: Get up to 50% off and free shipping. Valid 11/22-11/27.
Madewell: Take 25% off everything with code DONTSTRESS. Valid through 11/26.
Forever 21: 50% off winterwear TODAY ONLY!
Urban Outfitters: Buy one, get one 50% off everything, valid 11/22-11/24.
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