ICYMI: Study Reveals Best Black Friday Discounts

CLEARWATER, FL — Tampa Bay area residents working on their Black Friday shopping game plans may find comfort in the fact the region is home to some of the best stores for offering post-Thanksgiving discounts.

That’s according to the personal finance website WalletHub. Its researchers recently surveyed 8,000 deals from 35 of the biggest retailers across the country to create its best stores rankings.

WalletHub spokeswoman Diana Popa explained the study was inspired by the impending arrival of the holidays and projections that Americans will spend $656 billion this year on holiday shopping. That spend is up from about $631 billion in 2015.

To arrive at rankings, WalletHub looked at the average discounts 35 major retailers across the country plan to offer this coming Black Friday, Nov. 25. “The average discount was weighted based on the prediscounted price of the item in order to give more credit to the retailers discounting higher-ticket items,” WalletHub explained on its website.

While not every retailer on the list of 35 has a presence in the Tampa Bay area, many do. Here are how stores in the region stack up in order based on the average discount being offered for Black Friday specials:

1. Macy’s, 63.4 percent
2. JCPenney, 62.8 percent
3. Kohl’s, 58.1 percent
4. Sears, 43.9 percent
5. CVS, 43.9 percent
6. Office Depot/Office Max, 43 percent
7. Toys ‘R’ Us, 40.5 percent
8. HH Gregg, 37.3 percent
9. Dollar General, 36.9 percent
10. GameStop, 34.9 percent
11. Best Buy, 33.2 percent
12. Staples, 33.1 percent
13. Walmart, 32.6 percent
14. BJ’s, 32 percent
15. True Value, 31.9 percent
16. Kmart, 28.6 percent
17. Target, 28.6 percent
18. Sam’s Club, 28.3 percent
19. Ace Hardware, 27.7 percent
20. Verizon, 27.5 percent
21. Costco, 25.4 percent
22. Amazon, 24.7 percent
23. Big Lots, 23.5 percent

Across all retailers surveyed, WalletHub reported the average Black Friday discount comes in at 39 percent.

Some retailers were not considered in the rankings because they did not respond to requests for data, WalletHub noted. They include Home Depot, Pottery Barn, Sephora, Kay and Zales and Wayfair.

To check out the full study, visit WalletHub online.

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