Shoppers slam Target for ‘measly’ Black Friday deals

As Black Friday approaches, Target has announced its early sales, giving shoppers a chance to snag discounted items before the holiday.

But many Americans have said they aren’t impressed by the company’s ‘measly’ deals. 

For the second year in a row, Target has come under fire for its Black Friday deals with many blaming ‘corporate greed.’ 

Creator Kate Pirl claimed in a social media video that this year’s deals are barely scratching the surface compared to previous Black Friday sales. 

‘Y’all don’t have to worry about me on Black Friday. You will not see me for no measly $10,’ she said as she dove in to some of the deals Target is offering this year. 

In her video, she had screenshots of the Target app displaying the company’s sales.

She showed that customers can get $10 off $69.99 and $99.99 cameras, which she considered a poor deal. 

‘Like save $10? $10?! $10 is a Black Friday deal?,’ she questioned. ‘Target’s Black Friday deals are really saying, it’s not inflation, it’s corporate greed.’

 Pirl showed that customers can get $10 off $69.99 and $99.99 cameras, which she considered a poor deal

Pirl also showed viewers how Target is offering a ‘buy two get one free’ deal on books, movies and music. 

‘Back in my day, buy one get three free, maybe even four,’ she critiqued.

She also slammed the retailer offering 30 percent off sleepwear, claiming it could be a normal ‘weekly deal.’

‘Bring back the good 60 percent-80 percent Black Friday deals because these are NOT it,’ she added. 

Another creator, under the username CoreDeals, dove into Target’s Black Friday deals, echoing what Pirl was feeling. 

‘I’m tired of this… Overall this is just a waste of my time at this point,’ he said.

Many commenters agreed with the content creator. 

One wrote: ‘most of these are the same deals they normally cycle through.’ 

‘Was screaming earlier 30 percent off is NOT BLACK FRIDAY.’ 

‘The same prices “on sale” throughout the year. I was bummed to see the “deals”,’ another agreed.  

‘I ain’t getting out of bed unless it’s 75% off or more,’ said one. 

Target got into hot water last year after videos circulated online of shoppers finding Black Friday sale signs on top of old signs – often with the same, or lower, prices than the Black Friday ‘deals’.  

TikTok creator DeJay Downey posted a video last year revealing the signs underneath the Black Friday signs with the same prices at an unidentified Target store. 

In the electronics department, she revealed one television set which was listed on sale for $649.99, but was also displayed at the same price on the sign underneath. 

‘It’s the same, I don’t get it,’ she said in the video. ‘I’m confused.’ 

With most deals the creator showed from Target’s Black Friday advertisement ranging from 30-40 percent off, CoreDeals often said he was ‘not impressed’ by the deals

A creator on TikTok, DeJay Downey, posted a video revealing the signs underneath the Black Friday signs with the same prices at an unidentified Target store

In the electronics department, she revealed one television set which was listed on sale for $649.99 was displayed at the same price on the sign underneath. ‘It’s the same, I don’t get it,’ she said in the video. ‘I’m confused’

A spokesperson for Target told the New York Post at the time that the TVs ‘were on sale before Black Friday as part of our early Black Friday sales.’ 

‘We continued to offer those items at the same discount during Black Friday, but updated the signage to reflect the extended timing,’ the spokesperson added. 

The company said that ‘in both instances’ customers would have saved ‘between $20-$80 depending on which TV they purchased.’ 

‘Those discounted prices compared to the regular prices are clearly shown in both sale signs in the video,’ the Target spokesperson told The Post. 

In recent years, shoppers have caught on to retailers allegedly increasing the price of items over the months running up to Black Friday, to put it ‘on sale’ for the holiday deals. 

Some shoppers have caught on to the phenomenon by using tools online to track the price of an item. 

One shopper, Louis Torres, found last year that a TV he had his eye on for his wife was the same price on Black Friday as it was at the beginning of October. 

‘My wife needed a new display TV for her office, I could’ve bought this for her birthday in October,’ he told Newsweek. 

The TV came on sale for $499.99 from $799.99, but a Keepa browser extension revealed that it was priced at $499.99 at the start of October, becoming $799.99 mid-month and then reduced again to $499.99 just before the sale.

‘A tactic which is used pretty widely by a lot of retailers involves raising the regular prices of a product so you can then advertise it as a deeper percentage discount,’ Jie Zhang, a professor of marketing at the University of Maryland, told DailyMail.com last year.

‘It really plays into that consumer psychology and makes shoppers feel like they are getting a really great deal. I would advise people to always be cautious of percentage discounts.’