Missed Black Friday? Still Good Deals to Be Found, Wallet Hub Says

CRANSTON, RI — So, the good news is, bargains still abound. But now that Black Friday 2016's in the history book, the numbers reveal consumers got the most bang for their buck, if they bought video game software. The worst deals were on jewelry, according to Diane Popa of WalletHub, the personal finance website.

Here are the highlights -- and lowlights -- from Wallet Hub's recent holiday studies and reports.

• Macy’s, Stage and JCPenney were 2016’s Best Stores for Black Friday, offering an average discount of at least 62.8%
• Over 17% of items were more expensive on Black Friday than the regular price are on Amazon.com.
• Video games (software only) offered the most value on Black Friday 2016 relative to their current prices, while jewelry was expected to be the worst deal.
• 11% of Black Friday deals were actually recycled from last year, per 2016’s Black Friday Freshness Report.
• Target, Netflix and Walmart top the list of 2016’s Best Gift Cards.
• Consumers can save $500+ with one of 2016’s Best Credit Cards For Holiday Shopping.
• Credit cards also have a number of little-known benefits that can really come in handy over the holidays, including price-drop protection, extended warranties and coverage for damaged or stolen items.
• 99% of store credit cards do not charge an annual fee, and the average card offering rewards in the form of discounts gives you more than 19% off your first purchase, according to the 2016 Store Card Landscape.
• All of the major retailers offering 0% financing use a dangerous feature called deferred interest, which has the potential to make holiday purchases up to 27.5 times more expensive than expected.

Small Business Saturday is today. Then it's on to Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. Yep, 28 shopping days left until Christmas.

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