With the hectic holiday season fast approaching but the country still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, here are WalletHub’s recent holiday studies and reports, highlights of which you can find below.
- Macy’s, JCPenney and Belk are 2021’s Best Places to Shop on Black Friday, offering an average discount of at least 56.7%.
- Around 11% of items at major retailers will be more expensive on Black Friday than their current Amazon.com prices.
- Consumer packaged goods will offer the most value on Black Friday 2021 relative to their current prices, while computers and phones are expected to have the least rewarding deals.
- 1 in 4 people are foregoing holiday gifts this year due to COVID-19, according to WalletHub’s 2021 Coronavirus and Holiday Shopping Survey.
- Starbucks, Target and Nike top the list of 2021’s Best Gift Cards.
- Consumers can save $500+ with one of 2021’s Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping.
- Some consumers already have access to little-known credit card benefits that can come in handy over the holidays, including price-drop protection 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 17% off your first purchase, according to WalletHub’s 2021 Store Card Landscape Report.
- 41% 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.