Some people enjoy the adrenal jolt of surging through the doors on Black Friday morning, while others are just there to pick up one item and escape unscathed.
Since being thankful is a tad tougher after waiting in the cold for hours and still missing out on the year's hottest deals, a new survey of retail outlets has revealed the merchants who have the most bountiful selection of deeply discounted products this Black Friday.
WalletHub looked at the best and worst retail outlets to find deals for the 2014 edition of Black Friday, surveying 5,525 ads to find out where the discounts are concentrated. The shoe-scuffed battlegrounds of historic sites like Wal-Mart and Costco didn't even rank in the top 10 places to find Black Friday plunder.
JCPenney topped WalletHub's ranking of retailers by average discount, offering price cuts that are around 65.44 percent off retail prices. JCPenney was followed by Macy's (53.52 percent), Rite Aid (53.34 percent), Meijer (50.85 percent) and Sears (50.19 percent).
The retailers rounding out the bottom half of the top 10, listed in descending order, include Walgreens, Office Depot and OfficeMax, Ace Hardware, Kohl's and Staples.
Retailers ranked 11 to 22, in descending order, include hhgregg, RadioShack, Kmart, Target, AAFES, CVS Pharmacy, Dell, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Amazon, Big Lots and Costco.
Beyond detailing the places to find the greatest amount of discounts, WalletHub reported which retailers are offering the best value in categories like consumer electronics and apparel.
Sears is best place to go for apparel and accessories, Office Depot and OfficeMax for computers and phones; Macy's for consumer electronics and packaged goods; Kohl's for toys and furniture; Kmart for jewelry; and JCPenney for appliances and anything that doesn't fall into the aforementioned categories.
While the Black Friday deals are carefully crafted to help retailers get out of the red on the accounting sheets, the University of Southern California's Mathew Curtis is reminding consumers not to hurt themselves while taking advantage of the fleeting deals. Curtis is a clinical assistant professor at the university's Annenberg School of Communication.
"Your focus should not be on how much you saved," says Curtis. "If you saved $500 but spent more than you can afford, was that saving of $500 sensible? Focus more on what you spend, not what you save. Try looking for reasons as to why you do not need a product rather than why you want a product."
