Black Friday safety tips

The unofficial beginning to the holiday shopping season, Black Friday compels many people to get out of bed in the middle of the night in the hopes of landing great deals on gifts for their loved ones. The competition to find deals on Black Friday can sometimes get heated. As a result, some shoppers have found themselves in unsafe situations in the past.

Many retailers have taken steps to make the atmosphere in their stores on Black Friday less hectic and more consumer-friendly. Shoppers can follow suit and take the following precautions to ensure this Black Friday is as safe as possible.

• Recognize you might not get everything on your list. Inventory may be limited in regard to sale items on Black Friday. Make a list of the items you hope to buy and where you hope to buy them, ranking each item in terms of importance. Then calmly move from store to store, recognizing that you may not end up with every item on your list. Accepting this ahead of time can make the day seem less hectic and more safe.

• Protect and conceal your purchases. Shoppers might not be as sharp when shopping Black Friday sales in the wee hours of the morning. That could make them more vulnerable to thieves. Protect and conceal purchases at all times. If necessary, bring items to the car after each purchase, making sure to place them in a concealed vehicle trunk where they are not visible to prospective thieves.

• Leave small children at home. While horror stories of Black Friday holiday shoppers stampeding through stores are few and far between, malls may not be the safest places for small children to spend the day after Thanksgiving. Overstressed shoppers running on fumes and long lines at the checkout counters can make things unsafe for small kids and try their patience. Shoppers who plan to shop on Black Friday should leave their small children home with a spouse or relative to avoid accident or injury.

• Park in well-lit areas. Parking can be hard to find on Black Friday. But shoppers should not give in and park far away from stores in poorly lit areas of parking lots. Doing so makes shoppers vulnerable to theft or attack.

• Be attentive in the parking lot. In addition to keeping an eye out for prospective thieves or attackers, Black Friday shoppers should be mindful of motorists in the parking lots. Tired shoppers may be focused on getting home and speed through parking lots. Stay alert to avoid exhausted drivers.

Finding deals might be the ultimate goal of Black Friday, but shoppers also must be mindful of safety when shopping during the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season.

The benefits to shopping on Black Friday

Black Friday is a holiday season phenomenon that entices shoppers out of their homes, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning. Many stores begin their Black Friday promotions on Thanksgiving night, while others may wait until midnight to open their doors to deal-hungry holiday shoppers.

Thanks to the crowds, some shoppers may be intimidated by Black Friday and opt to avoid stores entirely on the day after Thanksgiving. But there are a host of benefits to shopping on Black Friday that can compel hesitant shoppers to join the festive fray.

• Deals: Black Friday is a consumer-friendly day on which savvy shoppers can find great deals on big-ticket items. Big-ticket items like electronics, including televisions, smartphones and tablets, are often heavily discounted on Black Friday. Such deals may only be for a certain period of time or until a predetermined amount of inventory has been sold, so shoppers should do their research and prioritize which items are most important to them in advance of Black Friday. While Black Friday occurs during the holiday season when many people are busy looking for gifts for their loved ones, shoppers who need new big-ticket items can save money by shopping for themselves as well as their friends and family members in the initial hours after Thanksgiving.

• Shopping done early: Shoppers who tend to procrastinate during the holiday shopping season may find that shopping on Black Friday increases the chance they’ll get their shopping done early. Getting shopping done early leaves more time to celebrate with family and friends throughout December.

• Giveaways: Many stores offer giveaways to Black Friday shoppers. Such giveaways may include gift cards, free entries into raffles or totes bags full of goodies. Such giveaways make great stocking stuffers, enabling Black Friday shoppers to get some shopping done without spending a dime.

• Budget-friendly: Budget-conscious holiday shoppers may find that Black Friday allows them to give great gifts without compromising their personal finances. In its second annual holiday debt survey, MagnifyMoney found that consumers who took on debt during the 2016 holiday season were poised to begin the new year with an average of $1,003 worth of new debt. Shopping on Black Friday might help many shoppers reduce the amount of debt they take on during the holiday season.

Shoppers hesitant to join the Black Friday fray might want to consider the many benefits to shopping on one of the busiest shopping days of the year before making their final decision.