4 Must-Have Products on Black Friday

Every year, shoppers and stores anticipate Black Friday and the shopping frenzy it inspires. While shopping is a lot different this year, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, stores are still stirring up hype for Black Friday by revealing some deals early and announcing their plans for online and in-store bargain hunters alike.

Based on these early announcements, what we saw on Prime Day, which was in October this year, and what we've seen during past Black Fridays, these are the items that will likely see the biggest Black Friday discounts.

-- Wireless earbuds.

-- Smart home products.

-- 4K televisions.

-- Home goods and appliances.

Note that during this year, Black Friday isn't a single day, but an entire season. It's smart to start searching for deals in early November.

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Wireless Earbuds

Last Black Friday brought price drops of $15 to $30 off Apple's AirPods. But shoppers can expect even bigger discounts this year. During Prime Day, the AirPods Pro were available for $199, which was $50 off the full price. This upgraded version of Apple's original AirPods were new on the scene during Black Friday 2019, and we saw scarcely a discount.

Meanwhile, the regular AirPods, which are the version with the wired charging case, dropped to $114 on Prime Day this year ($45 off the full price). Walmart has already advertising them at $99 for the first of its three Black Friday events, which kicks off Nov. 4.

AirPods aren't your only option. Best Buy offered JBL Free True Wireless In-Ear Headphones for $59.99, which is $90 off full price, to compete with Prime Day this year. And Amazon has offered single-day discounts on its Echo Buds throughout 2020, dropping the price as low as $89.99, or $40 off full price.

Given that deep discounts on popular products help stores build Black Friday hype, it's likely that shoppers will see similar, or better, discounts on wireless earbuds across the board this year.

Smart Home Products

Smart home tech has become a Black Friday fixture over the past several years. And as Google, Amazon and Apple continue to evolve their product lines, that brings discounts on new and old models.

This Prime Day, Amazon featured its lowest price ever on its Echo Dot, which is the third generation model, released in the fall of 2019. It dropped the price to just $18.99. It also dropped its Echo Show 5 smart screen, which came out in summer 2019, to the lowest price ever of $44.99. For Black Friday, shoppers should look for discounts on Amazon's fourth generation line of smart speakers, which are new this fall, especially because Apple just announced its Apple HomePod Mini smart speaker. Google, meanwhile, has its own Nest line of smart speakers and screens -- and has a history of offering pricing to compete with Amazon's counterparts.

That's all good news for shoppers, whether they want to upgrade their old smart home devices, get a smart hub, screen or speaker for the first time or add a smart device to another room.

Smart video doorbells will also see dramatic price drops on Black Friday. The basic Ring Video Doorbell dropped below $70 on Prime Day, and higher-end video doorbells saw nice discounts as well.

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4K Televisions

Retailers push the envelope every year when it comes to TV pricing on Black Friday. And even though the in-store doorbusters of yore may not be safe or feasible this year, retailers are already indicating that they are going to tempt shoppers to make new TVs part of their holiday shopping lists in 2020.

In early October, Best Buy offered a sneak peek at some of its Black Friday deals and revealed that it will offer a 70-inch Samsung 4K Smart TV for $529.99 on Black Friday. That's roughly $20 lower than the prices offered on similar sets last Black Friday.

Walmart, meanwhile, is putting TV deals front and center for the second of its Black Friday events, which kicks off Nov. 11. For example, you can find a 55-inch 4K TCL TV for $148, which is more than $50 less than what retailers offered on that screen size last year. Walmart is also offering a 50-inch Onn 4K TV for $128, which is about $20 lower than Walmart's own Black Friday price on a similar set on Black Friday 2019.

Given these early indicators, it's likely that TVs will be priced to sell for Black Friday this year.

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Home Goods and Appliances

Vacuums, pressure cookers and air fryers have consistently been smart Black Friday buys for years. And with many Americans spending more time at home, retailers will likely put these items front and center in their Black Friday ads.

For example, Lowe's has already announced that its Black Friday and holiday season deals this year will pay tribute to the home. It will offer up to $700 off select major appliances of $1,999 or more from Nov. 19 to Dec. 2, as well as daily "Cyber Steals" through Dec. 2 on things like small appliances, floor care products, lighting, decor and more.

As for prices shoppers can expect, Amazon offered up to $200 off several high-end robotic vacuums during Prime Day.

Best Buy offered $200 off the iRobot Roomba 960 during its own sale on Amazon Prime Day. And Walmart is offering a 600-series Roomba vacuum for $177 ($67 off full price) during its first Black Friday event on Nov. 4. Kitchen gadgets are another promising category. Based on past years, Prime Day pricing and sales from competing retailers during Prime Day, Black Friday shoppers will easily find 6-quart Instant Pots for under $50 and up to 50% off air fryers.

While small home appliances may not be the most glamorous Black Friday buys, they're things that can be used every day -- and gifts that may be appreciated a little more this year.

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