Google says deal searches up 20% for Black Friday
Posted by Jeff Morgan (12/02/2009 @ 8:03 pm)
Google has some interesting numbers around Black Friday and the deal-conscious consumer. Of course everyone loves a good deal, but it’s pretty cool to see the data. Apparently Black Friday searches in general were up 20%, while searches for “Black Friday deals” and “Black Friday ads” shot up 50% over last year. People were even after specific stores more than usual, with searches for “Walmart Black Friday,” “Kohls Black Friday Ad,” “Sears Black Friday Sales,” and “Target Black Friday Deals Online,” among the top searches.
It’s funny, then, to consider that most of the Black Friday deals I found online were actually through snapshots of physical advertisements. Despite online retailers like Amazon running deals, it seems most retailers are still relying on old media to get the ads out. It’s consumers that have taken the time to get the ads posted and available online.
Deal shopping this year was most apparent in the consumer electronics department where searches were up more than 300%. Again, makes sense. People want to get those big ticket items or less, and retailers have been willing to cut some of the bigger profit margins just to get people in the store lately.
Source: Google Retail Blog
Best of Black Friday
Posted by Jeff Morgan (11/26/2009 @ 10:06 pm)
I’ve never been the type to get up ass-early the day after Thanksgiving, but there are some undeniably great deals out there that could make be worth it were I ever not sleeping off my vitamin T. I’ve scoured all the ads this year to find my personal favorite deals in the hope that it will help some of you last minute planners.
Amazon’s got the Blackberry Bold 9700 (Bold 2 for those of you keeping track) for $149.99 on new contracts, but you can do better. Wirefly has the same phone on AT&T for FREE with new activations and just $29.99 for existing customers. It’s a perfect deal for your favorite Blackberry fan (and probably yourself if you’re so inclined).
According to blackfriday.info’s many, many ad leaks, Office Depot has a Seagate 1.5TB external drive for $99.99. There are cheaper deals for smaller drives out there but, dollar for dollar, this will get you one of the best storage deals available. As someone who recently had to restore a machine from a backup drive, I’d highly recommend this option. It’s also great if you know someone working with large amounts of audio and video.
Dell’s working a little Black Friday love this year, my favorite being the 23″ Full HD (I’m assuming that means 1080p) widescreen monitor w/webcam for $219. Gamers would love this thing, whether it’s for a PC or, if they’re really desperate, that brand new Xbox 360 bundle they picked up. At 23″ it’s plenty big enough for extended MW2 sessions, especially in a dorm room.
If you’re in the market for a new computer, check out the Acer Aspire One at Office Max. It’s 10.1″ with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HD, and Windows XP – all for $149.99. That’s about as cheap as you’ll get for a ten-incher, which is as small as I can go before my hands cramp up.
Black Friday just wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Best Buy. The house of blue and yellow has the Nikon D3000DX bundle for $499.99. It’s a 10.2 Megapixel DSLR with a 10-55mm VR lens just a penny under the $500 mark. It’s 10% off list for most retailers, and as low as anyone wants to go for a DSLR this season.
There you have my favorites. There are plenty of sites where you can find the rest of the deals if you don’t get the paper. I’d recommend checking out www.blackfriday.info. Now, go get some rest. You’ll need it for the maddening crowd.
Posted in: Cameras, Computers, Guides, Mobile, Tips
Tags: black friday, black friday deals, headlines, holiday deals, holiday gift guide, holiday gifts, holiday shopping, thanksgiving deals