Black Friday 2018: Best Black Friday stores, according to WalletHub

When it comes to major discounts and killer deals, some retailers fare better than others.

Luckily, analysts over at personal finance website WalletHub did some of the work for shoppers as they prepare for the hectic post-Thanksgiving holiday.

After surveying nearly 7,000 deals from 35 of the biggest United States retailers’ Black Friday ad scans, WalletHub researchers identified the stores offering the biggest discounts based on the pre-discounted price of a given item. The list excludes deals without calculable percentage markdowns.

Analysts also organized the deals into 11 product groups, including apparel/accessories, consumer electronics, appliances, jewelry and toys.

Of the 35 retailers examined, Belk ranked first in the best places to shop on Black Friday list, offering an average discount of 68.9 percent, up from 62.8 percent last year.

JCPenney came in second, with average discounts at 65.1 percent.

Here are the 10 best places to shop on Black Friday, according to WalletHub:

Belk (68.9 percent discount)
JCPenney (65.1 percent)
Stage (62.1 percent)
Kohl's (60.8 percent)
New York & Company (54.5 percent)
Payless ShoeSource (50.3 percent)
Dick's Sporting Goods (49.9 percent)
Macy's (48.7 percent)
Fred Meyer (45.3 percent)
Shopko (45.2 percent)

And the top three retailers for each category:

Apparel and accessories

Computers and phones

Consumer electronics

Consumer packaged goods

Toys

Appliances

Furniture

Jewelry

Books, movies and music

Video games software

Other product categories

According to WalletHub, the majority of discounts are concentrated in apparel and accessories, followed by computers and phones. Jewelry will be the hot-discount product this Black Friday.

More about the ranking and its methodology at WalletHub.com.

The AJC may receive a commission for purchases made through some links in this article.

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