When’s the best day for Christmas deals?

When is the cheapest time to shop for deals this Christmas? New research shows it’s not Black Friday!

A day for deals that’s better than Black Friday

Based on an analysis of last year’s data, the best day for deals is…the Sunday before Thanksgiving! This year, particularly when it comes to online shopping, it’s a certainty that we are among the best days for deals already.

Retailers are trying to spread the shopping out. This past Saturday, Best Buy had a 3-hour sale with a targeted list of heavily discounted items. These were true sales, not the fake kind. So by doing a limited-time offer, they were able to get a steady flow of people into the store.

The whole idea of people waiting in the wee hours of the morning for traditional Black Friday doorbusters is a thing of the past. Particularly because many retailers will be open on Thanksgiving — BJs and Costco being 2 notable exceptions.

In other instances, Amazon.com is doing Lightning Deals for Christmas already. They’re popping up certain items with a stated quantity and a countdown timer.

One trend that runs counter to all the deals: The Supreme Court has made comparison shopping online difficult. In many instances, you can’t know the final price of an item until you put it in your cart.

Finally, Target has announced an offer of free shipping through the Christmas shopping season on any size order. Target and Walmart are both routinely cheaper than Amazon. So if you are a 1-click to purchase on Amazon kind of person, you’ll get the convenience, but not the lower price!