Believe it or not, Black Friday is only two months away. It's never too early to start thinking about holiday gift-giving, or in this case buying a new printer for your home. Once you've followed this guide to help identify what you're looking for, it's time to begin game planning for 2018 Black Friday printer deals with the following three tips in mind.
1. Plan Ahead
I'm a big fan of acronyms, and if there's one that really holds true for Black Friday shopping it's the Five Ps (or less commonly known as "PPPPP"). It's completely unrelated to the Four Ps of marketing (though some are now saying that the fifth P of marketing is "People") and instead can be used across a number of scenarios.
"Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance."
The last thing you want to do when embarking on a Black Friday shopping trip is to head out without a plan. When buying a printer, you want to know what you’re buying and that you’re truly getting a great deal. Black Friday ads start to leak as early as October, providing a preliminary glimpse into Black Friday promotions. Once you know what printers will be advertised, research the device to make sure it has features that meet your printing needs.
2. Timing is Everything
Not all promotions offered on Black Friday are unique to Black Friday. This is true across many products, and especially so with printers. Within the past two years, only seven printer promotions were available on Black Friday itself (there are typically around 150 printer advertisements promoted during the Black Friday promotional period). All of these day-only offers were available at Fry’s Electronics. All other Black Friday promotions either ran through the Black Friday shopping weekend or were part of a retailer’s regularly-scheduled week-long advertisement.
3. Be Wary of Product “Exclusives”
Manufacturers and retailers often partner to provide customers with offers on “exclusive” Black Friday printers. Historically, holiday exclusive printers are based on existing configurations that have been available for some time. In addition, the products on which the holiday exclusives are based on are typically phase out configurations with replacements available across brick-and-mortar and online merchants. If you do choose to purchase the Black Friday exclusive model, make sure it’s what you’re looking for and is worth the Black Friday crowds.
What Does This All Mean?
In short, it means do your research. Planning ahead and knowing about the products that will be advertised will save you time and money. Remember that Black Friday printer deals are often extended through the shopping weekend, so there’s hardly a need to camp out to be first in line at a store such as Best Buy.
Lastly, if you do choose a Black Friday exclusive printer (again, it’s likely based on phase out model), make sure it fits your printing needs and that you don’t actually need features available on the newer model.
For more than 15 years, gap intelligence has served manufacturers and sellers by providing world-class services monitoring, reporting, and analyzing the 4Ps: prices, promotions, placements, and products. Email us at info@gapintelligence.com or call us at 619-574-1100 to learn more.
