ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Shoppers who were prepared to brave the crowds and hunt for deals on Black Friday say they were underwhelmed – stores were empty, and the savings were not that great. 

It wasn’t just Albuquerque, across the country let-down shoppers documented both the empty stores and the so-called sales. 

“That combination of higher prices added on to lower discounts mean, a more disappointing experience for consumers overall,” UNM Associate Professor of Finance Reilly White said. 

White says the lower discounts were expected. Many financial experts anticipated discounts would be about 2% less than last year, but some stores actually raised prices. 

“One of the things you’re seeing, you see retailers occasionally engaging in a practice where oh, supply and demand, maybe it’s algorithmic, but prices go up. And then the discounts appear bigger, or they’re discounting something that’s just been increased in price by a large amount, not resulting in savings for the consumer,” White said. 

Many people are noticing something similar happening on Cyber Monday. 

“I’ve had my eye on this new Casio keyboard for the last few months, and it’s been about $499,” One TikToker explained. “So I’m on Amazon, there she is and look Cyber Monday deal 11% off, but the price is still $499.” 

But White says there is a bright side to all of this. 

“A lot of times, you’ve seen an extension of the sales period of Black Friday for many weeks beforehand, and afterwards. For instance, we saw some large retailers initiate their Black Friday sales, two weeks before Thanksgiving this year,” said White.

Meaning, shoppers have more time to compare prices and find the best deal – without having to fight the holiday shopping crowds. 

In order to guarantee you get the best deal, White suggests shoppers do their research, figure out a fair price, set a budget for their holiday shopping, and try to avoid impulse buys.