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Retailers Roll Out Black Friday Deals Early Amid Pandemic

With COVID-19 social distancing and capacity restrictions in place at stores, retailers have pushed shoppers to their online sites and extended their sales periods

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As coronavirus cases continue to rise across the United States, changing the way people shop, many retailers have already rolled out their Black Friday deals online.

"It's very different from last year and the thing is that Black Friday has been going on all month long," said Julie Ramhold, a Consumer Analyst with DealNews. "We weren't sure if we were going to see those Black Friday worthy prices early on, but they have been there."

With COVID-19 social distancing and capacity restrictions in place at stores, retailers have pushed shoppers to their online sites and extended their sales periods.

Ramhold, whose website tracks the best deals out there, says there's more to come for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

"There are so many deals popping up, I think I've found something in every ad that I'm excited about," she said. "So TVs as per usual are really great. We're seeing different Fitbit Fitness trackers at Kohls are going to be great purchases, as long as you use the Kohl's cash. The latest generation of the Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot are going to see their first discounts this week as well."

If you want to find the best deal, do a search and check product comparison and deal sites to make sure you're getting the lowest price, and look for store coupon codes. Ramhold's biggest advice for the 2020 holiday season is to shop early!

Black Friday is the nation's biggest shopping day and its impact on the environment is equally huge. But it's possible to take advantage of those giant Black Friday sales while keeping your environmental impact low. Here are three tips to make your discount shopping more environmentally-friendly.

"If you see something that's a good price, you know you better grab it now" Ramhold said. "Because even though they are stretching these sales out longer, there are limited quantities and they might sell out pretty quickly depending on what you're shopping for. All the retailers are warning about major shipping delays, so if you're needing to buy a gift and have it arrive by a certain time, the earlier you shop the better."

And how will all the online shopping impact Cyber Monday this year? If last year's trend repeats, DealNews predicts you'll see some of the best sales of the season Monday, including the biggest discounts on toys. You can also expect cyber sales to last all of next week.

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