Prime Day vs. Black Friday: Which shopping event is right for you

Prime Day and Black Friday are the two biggest shopping events of the year, though with them happening just a few weeks apart in 2020, knowing when to finally pull the trigger on a big purchase is more difficult than ever. Of course, when it comes to holiday shopping, sooner is always better than later. More people than ever before will be shopping online for gifts this year, and not just during Prime Day and Black Friday either.

In recent years, we’ve seen most Black Friday offers available online. It’s likely that you won’t need to shop in-store for nearly any deals as more offers than ever before will be available to purchase at home using your phone or computer. With so many deals and so many people shopping online, it’s only a matter of time until the shipping delays and stock backorders begin.

With Prime Day now sitting so close to Black Friday on the calendar, those of us on a limited budget will have to decide on whether to skip Prime Day and wait for a better deal on Black Friday or shop during Prime Day and potentially miss out on a better offer just a few weeks later. There’s Cyber Monday to think about, too! However, taking a look at these sales from previous years can give a good indication of when the best time to shop is depending on what you’re looking to buy.

When is Prime Day 2020?

Amazon’s Prime Day sale normally takes place in the middle of the year to give Prime members an extra shot at scoring extremely low prices that are usually only found during Black Friday. However, with all that’s gone on in 2020, the two-day sale was delayed and pushed back by several months. It was recently announced that this year’s Prime Day takes place on October 13 and 14. We’re already seeing some early Prime Day deals that have already gone live.

When is Black Friday 2020?

Every year, Black Friday is held on the last Friday of November, otherwise known as the day after Thanksgiving. In 2020, that brings Black Friday to November 27. Over the past few years, we’ve seen tons of retailers offer Black Friday discounts in-store and online days before Black Friday actually arrives — including on Thanksgiving.

We don’t expect to see as many in-store deals as we have in the past, though that just means there will be even more ways to save online! Black Friday deals should start arriving as soon we reach the middle of November.

What Prime Day deals should we expect?

Prime Day is always the best time of the year to shop for Amazon devices like the Echo Dot, Kindle, and the Fire TV Stick, but there will also be loads of discounts on other products too. We’re expecting deals on smartphone accessories, office supplies, home decor and furniture, toys, clothing, video games, smart home essentials, and so much more. It will also be a great time to look into purchasing Ring devices, an Instant Pot, or Blink smart home cameras.

Amazon is fully aware of Black Friday being so close to its big sale and we’re guessing that we’ll see even better deals on Prime Day because of it. Prime Day usually has deals that are just as good or nearly as good as what Black Friday would offer; this year, Amazon has to up the ante and offer discounts that are even better than what customers expect from Black Friday if it really wants to entice them to shop during October instead.

Should you shop in-store or online for Black Friday 2020 deals?

For the past few years, most Black Friday deals have been available online. Now that social distancing measures are in place and store capacity limits are much lower than usual, we’re expecting stores to cut back on their normal Thanksgiving and Black Friday hours, as well as making less deals available in-store.

We’ve always advised staying home and shopping online during Black Friday so you can beat the rush and have a better chance at snagging the deals you’re interested in (without getting pushed and shoved around). However, in 2020, it’s highly recommended to stay home and away from large crowds in general — and that includes on Black Friday! Though we haven’t seen the Black Friday ads just yet, we’re expecting that most major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will offer nearly all of their deals online to ensure customers have a way to shop safely.

Should you shop Prime Day deals or wait for Black Friday?

Those who regularly shop online have likely already experienced shipping delays at some point during 2020, and they’re only about to get worse. With everyone shopping online during the holiday season, it’s going to start taking longer and longer for packages to arrive. That will impact your purchases on Prime Day, Black Friday, and throughout the rest of the year, and it’s something we’ve seen happen even in years where we aren’t dealing with a worldwide crisis.

Another potential issue stores will be contending with is having enough stock. This year has made it hard for retailers to keep certain items available on store shelves, and that doesn’t just include toilet paper and isopropyl alcohol but also game consoles like the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 or VR headsets. We may not see deals on popular products simply because no stock will be available.

All of this points to one crucial fact, whether we’re talking about 2020 or any year. Shopping early is always better when it comes to the holidays. If you see a stellar deal on Prime Day, it’s likely not worth waiting for Black Friday to hope that a better deal pops up. Not only would you be risking losing out on a great discount, but you also might miss out on the opportunity to buy the product entirely! Plus, with longer shipping wait times this year, waiting until the end of November to purchase gifts online may not be the best idea — unless you don’t mind Christmas gifts that arrive in January.

Is Cyber Monday worth the wait?

Before most Black Friday deals were available online, Cyber Monday was the day when you could shop similar offers at home on your computer. Nowadays, Black Friday deals are not just available online on Black Friday but also in the weeks leading up to the big event. While Cyber Monday is still around, it hasn’t been the most exciting sale in recent years because of this. However, it’s maintained its place on our calendar as a great opportunity to find deals on computers, office furniture and supplies, and more products to help improve your home office. In fact, it might just be the perfect sale for anyone who’s recently started working at home.

Let Thrifter help

Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are just around the corner, which means we’re all about to be bombarded with deals from retailers left and right. It’s pretty great until you start missing out on offers you never saw in time. Our friends at Thrifter are helping make sure that never happens by bringing you the best deals of each event with 24-hour deal coverage during Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. You can already get a head start by checking out this latest guide to Amazon’s Prime Day deals.

You can also follow Thrifter on Twitter to see the latest updates on each sale and sign up for notifications to have the best deals sent directly to your phone.