Best Black Friday Deals: Walmart vs. Target

By

Andy Markowitz

COVID-19 is upending the 2020 holidays in myriad ways, but one seasonal tradition remains constant: We'll be doing a lot of shopping.

Despite the economic upheaval wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, consumers surveyed by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics plan to spend only slightly less on

holiday gifts than they did last year: $650 on average, compared to $659 in 2019. Consumers are cautious but looking to the holidays for “retail therapy,” according to a similar study by the

NPD Group, a market research firm.

What's changing is how we do our holiday buying, with shoppers looking to avoid crowded stores and instead search out deals digitally. More than half of consumers plan to buy most of their

gifts online this year, NPD found.

They'll have plenty to choose from, with major retailers largely pivoting from in-store doorbusters on Black Friday to weeks-long holiday sales. More than 3 in 5 retailers are offering more

discounts than they have in holiday seasons past, says Sara Skirboll, shopping and trends expert at RetailMeNot, citing research by the savings site.

"Shoppers will have even more opportunities to save money this year given it will be an elongated holiday season,” Skirboll says. But that can make for an awful lot of searching and

scrolling when looking for the right present at the right price. Here are some tips from shopping experts on where to find top deals on popular gifts.

The big beasts among traditional superstores have been holding holiday sales all month, and they're generally comparable in terms of seasonal savings. “It is a very close contest between

Walmart and Target when it comes to Black Friday deals,” says Casey Runyan, managing editor at discount guide Brad's Deals.