Study Highlights Best, Worst Black Friday Deals

PEABODY, MA — Will you be one of the millions of shoppers lining up at malls in the pre-dawn hours Friday morning? Even with the extra effort, you may not be getting the best available deal, depending on what you're buying and where you're buying it, according to a WalletHub survey released Monday. The survey, for example, found that even after Black Friday discounts, 12 percent of the items being sold in retail stores will still be cheaper if you buy them on Amazon.

Other key findings from WalletHub's survey that may help you shop smarter on Black Friday:

• The best deals in stores will be on jewelry, while the worst deals will be on consumer electronics, according to the survey's breakdown of discounts by product category.
• WalletHub also published a list of retailers expected to offer the biggest average discounts. Among the stores with a local presence on the list: JC Penny (61%), Kohl's (57.1%), Dicks SPorting Goods (52.3%), Kmart (51.8%) and Macy's (46.1%).
• Be wary of 9% interest deals. Most retailers use a feature called "deferred interest" which can end up making the purchase as much as 27.5 times more expensive if you're not careful.

That last finding is key, as the survey also found that 35 million Americans are carrying debt from last holiday season. The holiday shopping season is also predicting that Americans will spend, on average, 27 percent less on holiday shopping this year.