Expert shares tips for Black Friday shoppers

These days, the crowds are smaller, there's less chaos and no more camping out to be the first in line. Still, a lot of people will pack the stores on Friday.

It’s almost time to lace up your sneakers and head to your favorite stores for some Black Friday shopping.

Many retailers have been offering special discounts for several days and these days, a lot of people prefer to do their shopping online. That means smaller crowds, less chaos and no more camping out to be the first in line.

“Retailers right now, and for the last few days, have had Black Friday Week going. It makes it a little less heated on Friday,” Barbara Stewart, a retail sciences professor at the University of Houston, explained.

If you’re still a tried and true Black Friday shopper, Stewart has a few tips.

For starters, avoid impulse purchases by planning ahead.

“Know what you want to buy and do some homework ahead of time compare,” Stewart said. “There are marvelous online sites that you can go to for price comparison. Know what you need for the spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases.”

With inflation still impacting many families, it helps to make a budget and stick to it.

“Consumers have fewer dollars to spend. Any time we have less in our bank account and less in our wallet, we will be slightly more conservative but we still have a pretty strong labor market,” Stewart said. “People are more fully-employed than they have been in other holiday seasons.”

So what are the deals to get?

“Typically Black Friday sales are good on small electronics, TVs, kitchen appliances,” Stewart said. “Toys, games, electronic gadgets are all hot items for Black Friday.”

And if you are purchasing things online, beware scams, the Better Business Bureau warns.

• Know the advertiser
• Verify the website address and make sure it’s real
• Beware of too-good-to-be-true deals.
• Be a savvy shopper. Read the fine print, the return policy & the privacy policy
• Look for online reviews or social media comments.