Being an Indian is like being a very versatile person. An Indian is a hardcore personality type. What we mean here is that an Indian knows how to make the best of what they have and then add their unique desi twist. They also know how to party – all desi parties are full of great food, drinks, and lots of dancing (yes, Rahul, we remember the Nagin dance). But there is another superpower that Indians possess. It is the power to save money and to know a good deal when it comes their way.
Now, this is where Black Friday comes in as your hero. You see, Black Friday is like the Diwali Dhamaka sale in the US, where everything is on a heavily discounted price. Everything you can think of, from electronics to your favorite pair of socks, is at a discounted rate. This is the right time for you to let your inner diva loose and shop for everything you need, but you have to think twice before spending on it. But before you pick up that tote bag and head out with your credit card, WAIT! Wouldn’t you like to know the best black friday deals with the best and the most unbelievable discounts that should be on the top of your shopping list? So here we are with exactly that information.
We’ll tell you what Black Fridays are, the best deals, and where to find them. So yes, this could be your guide to a Black Friday sale. A disclaimer, though, here you can’t say “bhaiya theek theek lagao na” for a very pricey item!
What’s Black Friday?
In India, no particular event/occasion is reserved for heavy discounts on shopping items and the resultant shopping spree. Sure, there is the Diwali dhamaka discount or the Independence Day sale, but these are different from the American event for such a day. You see, America loooooovvvveeeessss to do things differently from other countries in the world. It might also be why it’s called a First World country, but we won’t get into much of that because of potential political implications (wink, wink).
Back to the original topic, America has a concept of Black Friday, which is basically a weekend of HEAVY DISCOUNTS AND HUGE SALES on the Friday after Thanksgiving (that would mean these discounts and sales would be happening on November 29, 2024). However, this is a relatively recent development. You see, initially, Black Fridays were more about the labor and workforce’s absenteeism after Thanksgiving. Then, during the 1960s, Philadelphia used the term for the heavy and often disruptive vehicle and pedestrian traffic that happened the day after Thanksgiving.
However, businessmen soon saw this traffic and congestion as opportunities for business. From then onwards, they started coming up with enticing offers and discounts. So now, Black Fridays make the unofficial beginning of shopping for the holiday season.
Now that you know what Black Friday is, let’s move on to the next part, which talks about the best black friday deals and where to find them!
Best Black Friday Discounts, Deals & How To Find Them
So now that you know what a black Friday is, we know you are all pumped up to get your shopping cart out and start moving. But wait! Before you begin to go crazy in this land of discounts and make a bad decision to buy those Louis Vuitton heels that you might never wear (sorry, not sorry for calling you out, Aditi), let us make things easier for you. The discounts and sales are for everything, including electronics, home essentials, appliances, and your favorite TV show and movie goodies and accessories. So bring out your notes app and add our recommendations to the list!
Online Sites With The Best Black Friday Offers & Discounts
The best part about the Black Friday sales is that these happen in both online and offline modes. So you could either go out on the streets or shop in person in the stores. You can also sit back, scroll through various online sites, and buy things there. Both the offline and online discounts and deals are great. So let’s first look at the online ones because we feel you might like them more.
1. Amazon
Don’t lie and say you didn’t see this coming, Rahul. When anyone says ‘online shopping,’ the first thing that comes to mind is always Amazon. And thanks to the minds of good ol’ Jeff Bezos and now Andy Jazzy, Amazon offers some amazing deals on Black Fridays.
Amazon Black Friday discounts usually range anywhere between 20% to 70% off, making it the first choice to find the best black friday deals online. The e-commerce site offers a vast range of products to choose from.
Electronics – The first category that people prefer during the Black Friday sale is electronics. While this is a big category, it makes sense since electronics are expensive on a regular day, so a Black Friday discount is the way to go. The most popular Amazon product here is the Amazon Fire TV Stick and its voice-controlled AI device, Amazon Echo. Then there are the regular electronics like laptops and phones (yes, they do include iPhones, yaar!), and even your PS 4s and 5s, Rahul!
Home Goods and Appliances – Now that you are out of the electronics phase (because, let’s face it, electronics usually cost an arm and a leg, if not more), the next popular category is home goods and appliances. Black Friday sales offer great discounts on Home Appliances like air fryers, food processors, and even vacuum cleaners!
Now that we have covered home appliances, let’s move on to home goods because you can’t sleep on a microwave or an oven; you need a bed, bedsheets or a comforter, pillow covers, etc., and curtains to block the sunlight. Then, moving over to the kitchen, you need good shelves for storage, knives, sink organizers, and even containers to store the leftovers as the basics; again, Amazon doesn’t disappoint. And some of these goods can also be used in your bathrooms!
Beauty and Fashion—Don’t worry, Aditi! We didn’t forget you. This category will include your Dysons or any other hair dryers and stylers you love and have been eying for some time now. Then there are the regular makeup essentials like brushes, foundations, and lip products. So you can shop your heart out and spend much less!
2. Walmart
Coming in at a close second for Black Friday preferences is Walmart. Like Amazon, Walmart’s e-commerce site also has some great discounts and offers some of the best black friday deals, offering discounts of upto 50%! However, the list of product categories here varies slightly.
Home Essentials and Groceries – Walmart has some really great discounts on home goods for Black Fridays. Cleaning supplies like floor cleaners, wipes, and other home essentials like kitchen shelves, cutlery, and more are available here.
Walmart also offers groceries, including snacks, packed food items, and more.
Electronics (Consumer and Home Appliances) – Like other online shopping sites, Walmart offers Black Friday discounts on electronics. These include normal consumer items like laptops, phones, tablets, etc. And then there are home appliances like quality vacuums, blenders, and even supplies for your home office.
Fashion and Beauty – Beauty and fashion items are another popular item in the Black Friday deals. The list would include makeup products like lipsticks, foundations, eye makeup, and more!
It also has a great collection of footwear, clothes, and accessories. But we’d still prefer it if you stuck with the previous paragraph, not this one!
Home Decor – A unique category for Walmart is its great collection of home decor items for both indoor and outdoor spaces. Their home decor items have many options to give your home an aesthetic vibe.
Walmart also offers some of the best Black Friday deals on outdoor home decorations, including lights and bulbs and decorative wall hangings.
3. Best Buy
Best Buy is the American One-stop destination for all things electronic. So, even during Black Fridays, people prefer looking at Best Buy’s offers before going anywhere else, as it offers discounts of a minimum of 30% to a maximum of 50%. Luckily, the e-commerce site doesn’t disappoint anyone. It has great deals and discounts on tablets, headphones, laptops, home appliances like washers and dryers, refrigerators, and more.
Offline Stores and Shops With The Best Black Friday Offers & Discounts
Just like online sites, offline shopping has its perks during Black Friday. You can go to the stores and shops, select what you like after checking its quality, and then buy it for discounted rates! So, without further ado, we’ll let you know the list of the stores and shops with the best deals and discounts.
1. Target
While Target is a regular shopping spot for Americans, it becomes more so during Black Friday. On regular days, Target also has some great deals and prices. But during Black Fridays, the discounts on products and goods can be as high as up to 50%. Target has various products, including home goods, fashion apparel, beauty and makeup, electronics, baby products, games, and groceries! While these products aren’t very expensive at Target on regular days, they become even more affordable on Black Fridays.
Find your nearest Target outlet here – Target outlet finder
2. Macy’s
Macy’s is a fan-favorite store for offline Black Friday shopping. It is a known brand for women’s fashion, accessories, Cosmetics, and more, as it is the sister brand to Bloomingdales. The store has discounts of up to 60% on Black Fridays. So, Aditi, this might be a good store for your annual shopping trip before you go home because it offers some of the best black friday deals. (We know your mom, sister, aunts, and cousins have already sent you a list of things to bring from America since you are an NRI now!)
Find your nearest Macy’s store here – Macy’s store finder
3. Kohl’s
Kohl’s is a one-stop shop for all things fashion and more. It is a retail chain that sells clothes, fashion accessories, makeup, electronics, home goods, and toys. It offers up to 50% off its items during Black Fridays, so Kohl’s should also be on your list while shopping out during Black Fridays.
Find your nearest Kohl’s outlet here – Kohl’s outlets near me
4. JC Penney
Another fashion brand that is perfect for shopping on Black Fridays is JC-Penney. It is a departmental store chain that sells fashion apparel and accessories for women, footwear for both men and women and home decor. Like most Black Friday deals, it also offers upto 50% discount. So check it out during Black Fridays!
Find your nearest JC Penney here – JC Penney stores near me.
5. Home Depot
Home Depot does exactly what the name suggests. It has goods for all your basic and (sometimes even complicated) home essential needs, as well as fixing hardware. So, if you have just landed in America and want to get all those big things like patio furniture or small stuff like wood boards (yes, that’s a thing, and no, Rahul, it isn’t a surfboard), Home Depot would be the place to find it. Now, the best time to stalk up on these things would be Black Fridays because they would be available at discounted rates, and Home Depot offers close to 50% off on its goods. So you will be good to go!
Find your nearest Home Depot outlet here – Home Depot outlet locator.
6. Outlet Malls
This might surprise you, but even outlet malls have the best black friday deals. An outlet mall is basically a group of outlet stores under the same roof. Outlet stores are retail stores where manufacturers sell their products and goods at discounted prices. But this does not mean these malls have just everyday brands like Gap. On the contrary, brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Versace, and even Hermes have set up stores in many Outlet Malls.
However, these malls are often on the outskirts of the city (they are in almost every city), and they offer a minimum 25% and a maximum 75% discount during Black Fridays!!! Not a lot of NRIs know about such malls. Another fun and enticing fact is that a lot of Indian luxury brands, like Tommy Hilfiger, are actually cheaper in these outlet malls.
For example – if you buy a stripped polo shirt from the same brand in India, it would cost around Rs. 2000, whereas if you buy the shirt from the US outlet malls, it would cost around $11.85, which is roughly close to Rs. 992! So you see, the difference in price is close to Rs 100 or more. And if this doesn’t make you want to shop from the outlet malls, then we don’t know what will. We’ll make things easier for you by giving you a few examples of these malls like the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets in New Jersey, the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Florida, the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in California, and a few more
Now that you have some idea about the prices and products in these malls, you should probably search for an Outlet Mall in your city to shop from during Black Fridays. They offer great deals, and you can add them to your list of discoveries while in the US!
Conclusion – You’re Indian, Behave Like It! Go On A Shopping Spree On Black Fridays!
As an Indian, we love discounts. Anything on a kifayati daam is coming home with us. So what better occasion to bring out your inner Indian Aunty than to go on Black Friday shopping? Luckily, we have compiled a list of all the online and offline stores that have the best black friday deals. That’s not all. If you read the article (if you didn’t, Aditi, here is your chance to scroll up and read it now!), we have also mentioned the discount rates to entice you more. So in the words of K3G’s Poo, “What are you waiting for? Christmas??” If you are, then don’t! Shop during Black Fridays and save 100s and 1000s of dollars!
