ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - What are some of the most sought-after electronics ahead of Black Friday?
"Your 4K TV's, gaming consoles, drones, virtual reality headsets and your connected home stuff," says Chris Starrett, Specialty Sales Manager at Best Buy in Ashwaubenon.
Starrett's location, like most Best Buy stores nationwide, will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day giving it more of a Black Thursday feel. They will remain open until 1 a.m. on Friday, November 25. After that, Best Buy will re-open seven hours later and close again at 10 p.m.
Some of the deeper discounts available are in those 4K TV selections.
"Price point at those have come down to allowing people the ability to get there versus the last few years when they've been $2,000 to $3,000," Starrett says.
A couple examples of great value for those televisions include:
- $199.99 Toshiba 49-inch 4K Ultra HD TV
- $479.99 (save $320) Samsung 55-inch LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV
Starrett explains what makes these models superior to the traditional high-definition set.
"Your standard high-definition is your 1080p, that looks great, 4K looks even better," says Starrett. "It's four times the resolution of 1080p, so you get all those great details and HDR is going to get you more of a vibrant contrast of picture."
It seems like everyone either has or wants a drone to use for pretty much anything. According to one analyst, the consumer drone market worldwide is expected to grow more than 23% from 2016 to 2020.
Best Buy believes they've got the best product to fill that need.
"The ones that we have here are going to get you longer flight times, as far as flight pattern and distance that they travel, so they're your bigger drones," Starrett says. "(Also) 4K video capabilities so they can actually record that great video that those TVs put out."
Appliances and laptop computers are also expected to be big sellers throughout the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
UNIQUE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
Black Friday in 2016 is shaping up to be much like any previous crazy year, where loyal customers who've been planning their purchases carefully are willing to set up camp right outside the doors of their local Best Buy, chomping at the bit to grab "their precious".
"We've got people who will camp out, sometimes 2, 3, 4 days beforehand," says Starrett. "So when we come in the morning, there's positive energy around us, we're all getting pumped up."
For several weeks now, store officials have been busy getting stock in and preparing to not run out of that special discount customers will flock to.
Despite seeing several of these long workdays in his time, Starrett says the excitement he has for this unique run of commerce hasn't waned.
"I expect the best, they know they're going to come in here, it's a high energy environment, busy on their feet," Starrett recounts. "A lot of them are like, oh this is my first holiday. This will be my 9th, and I'm just as chipper as ever going into this one as I was for the first one."
As with anything these days, customers looking for these deals from home will be able to get nearly every one of them at BestBuy.com.