In today's digital age, the line between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is increasingly blurred. TrueTrae smart shopping expert Trae Bodge joined TheStreet to discuss which vacations offer the best deals for shoppers.
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Full video transcript below:
CONWAY GITTENS: So in today's digital age, is there much difference between the deals we see on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
BRING BODGE: This is a good question. This is how I look at Black Friday versus Cyber Monday. So, Black Friday started as a store-only day. Obviously it's also an online day. But the way I see it, Black Friday deals tend to be more specific, a little more limited. Maybe it's a TV guy. For example, on Cyber Monday, deals tend to expand, so you may see multiple deals on the same brand of TV. So you have a little more options, a little more choice too. And so you have some flexibility on Cyber Monday. And then the other thing about Cyber Monday, if a retailer has some flexibility, if they don't have a big Black Friday, maybe they could increase those discounts for Cyber Monday. That's why sometimes the deals tend to be a little better on Cyber Monday.
CONWAY GITTENS: That was my next question because in this entire season, beyond Cyber Monday and Black Friday, where do you expect the biggest and best deals when you look online versus in-store? And I'm curious to know which is the leader, what are the offers that guide the consumer, where to buy, or if the consumer guides the retailer where to place the best offers.
BRING BODGE: So I think it's a little bit of both. Retailers have these plans that they have implemented for many months. This is part of his great season. And that's how the retailer guides things. But some retailers, especially smaller ones, may change a bit. Cyber Monday and offers that biggest discount. Now, in terms of retailers that sell both online and in-store, we tend to see those offerings being comparable across the board. Retailers are trying to create what they call an omnichannel experience for the consumer, so they can shop the way they want. I would say one thing about Black Friday though is that you often see these very quick flash deals or spectacular deals that come and go. Inventory is pretty low, so I think you'll do better on Black Friday if you're in the store to buy that item before someone else. And that for me would be the difference. But really, if you don't like those crowds, you can just relax in your pajamas and shop online.
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CONWAY GITTENS: Continuing with this idea between online and stores this year, there are fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So how does that affect one's purchasing strategy or decision, whether buying online or getting off the couch and going to the store?
BRING BODGE: Yes, and to your point, we have fewer shopping days. So what I expect is that Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be very strong because people don't have as much time to shop. But luckily it's easy to get a lot of items pretty quickly. If you buy from a site like amazon, for example, they ship very quickly in a couple of days, and then there are services like Instacart, for example. You can relax in your pajamas and send an instagram shopper to do your shopping and receive those items the same day. And Instacart has a really cool feature called express pass, which means the minimums to get free shipping and same-day shipping are much lower during the holiday shopping season, so that's another option. If you don't want to go to the stores, you can send a shopper, an Instacart shopper, there for you.
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