TAMPA, Fla. — With the holiday shopping season well underway, consumers are doing what they can to maximize their savings, though some shoppers have been left wondering if the sales available are actually good deals.
Stephanie Abel took a stroll through Hyde Park Village Monday to do some shopping, but she pointed out the holiday shopping hype seems a little different nowadays.
"It used to be like rush out the day after Thanksgiving, oh my gosh I'm so excited we're going to get some great sales, and you go, and everything is about the same as they are two days later," said Abel. "So I stopped doing that, and now I just kinda go, and you get sales, but I don't think they're anything spectacular."
The National Retail Federationpredicted an estimated 182 million people were planning to shop both in-store and online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year, though some shoppers have questioned the quality of the deals.
Some videos gained traction on social media about Target, with people revealing Black Friday deals signs and the regular sales signs behind them with the same price.
Target told ABC Action News in a statement in part: "In fact, the TVs were on sale before Black Friday as part of our early Black Friday sales. We continued to offer those items at the same discount during Black Friday, but updated the signage to reflect the extended timing."
"I would say fortunately for us now, we don't have to wait for Black Friday to actually do our shopping," said Alexandria Ebron. "I started seeing Black Friday sales, especially at Target, early November, mid-to-late October. "
Erbon runs the Frugalista Life, a lifestyle blog, covering fashion, food, and shopping trends.
"At least for me personally, 30 percent off isn't really too much of anything. That's just like a regular sale," said Ebron. "If you're giving me upwards of 50, I'll go as low as 40, but at least 50 percent or more off of an item, then you got me."
So is this season of shopping from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday what it used to be?
Carol Osborne, a Senior Instructor of Marketing at the University of South Florida, weighed in.
"I don't think it is," said Osborne. "I think there used to be much deeper discounts, and it was a draw to get consumers into the stores or buying the brands."
Still, Osborne thinks there are good sales out there right now.
"I think the best ones, the safest ones are where it's a percentage off, and it's either sitewide, storewide, or maybe it's on very particular things," said Osborne.
Experts also suggest keeping an eye out for coupon codes and loyalty rewards to help maximize your savings this holiday season.
