How to Choose a Store to Shop at on Black Friday

Black Friday, the day immediately after Thanksgiving, is generally viewed as the beginning of the winter holiday shopping season. It is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year with many stores offering large sales. Many stores, and entire shopping malls, will often extend their hours, opening very early and staying open much later to make it as convenient as possible for shoppers. There are the "members-only stores" that offers exceptional pricing but charge a membership fee for the privilege of shopping there. It is called "Black Friday" in reference to shopkeepers having accounts "in the black" or profitable as opposed to "in the red" or in arrears.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pen
• Paper
• Computer Access

The List

1. 
    

   Make a list of people for whom you intend to buy gifts for.

2. 
    

   Beside the name of each person, write a few gift ideas.

3. 
    

   Beneath the possible gifts, write the different stores where you might be able to purchase the items.

4. 
    

   Using your list, eliminate the stores, by marking through them, that you do not believe will have a gift for each recipient. You will also want to add any stores you may have left off the list that could satisfy all your gift requirements.

5. Now your list should be narrowed down to three or four stores that should have all the items, for all the people on your list. Now it is a matter of personal preference as to which of these stores on the list you want to shop at on Black Friday.

Tips & Warnings

• Check online advertisements for coupons and sales flyers on Thursday (Thanksgiving) for last minute sales and offers.
• To avoid waiting in potentially long customer service lines you should definitely purchase your "club membership" or make sure your "membership" is in good standing in advance of Black Friday.
• Map out your primary route and alternate routes to your shopping destinations.
• Black Friday pedestrian and motorized traffic is generally quite heavy, so make sure to give yourself enough time to complete all your shopping.

Resources

• Site with coupons and sales flyers
• Easy to use maps for directions