Charlotte-based Belk is one of the best stores to shop on Black Friday, report shows

Belk is among the best places to shop on Black Friday for deals among national retailers, according to WalletHub.

The iconic Charlotte-based department store ranked third among 13 U.S. retailers such as Kohl’s, Walmart and Target on WalletHub’s 2023’s Best Places to Shop on Black Friday list. National retailers JCPenney, based in Plano, Texas, ranked first, followed by New York City-based Macy’s.

Belk has nearly 300 stores in 16 Southern states compared to JCPenney, with 650 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and Macy’s more than 600 stores across the U.S. with brands Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.

Belk, despite being a regional Southern chain, offers an “impressive” average discount of 54.8%, showcasing its competitiveness against national giants like Kohl’s and Target, WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe told The Charlotte Observer.

Belk’s Black Friday discounts

WalletHub sifted through 3,500 Black Friday deals from some of the biggest U.S. retailers’ Black Friday ads, according to the personal-finance website.

The inclusion criteria involved examining the retailers with at least five discounted items in nine product categories, Happe said.

“The results emphasize Belk’s strength in catering to consumers’ diverse needs, from apparel to consumer packaged goods,” she said.

Belk’s standout categories based on average discounts are:

Appliances with an average discount of 60.26%, “nearly double the industry average.” Belk dominated the list.

Apparel and accessories, 54.94%

Consumer packaged goods, 31.94%, which includes products like makeup, shampoo and perfume.

Belk officials did not respond for comment about the survey.

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WalletHub’s Best Place to Shop on Black Friday

Here are the stores offering the largest advertised discounts in various product categories, according to WalletHub’s findings:

1. JCPenney, 59.1%

2. Macy’s, 58.2%

3. Belk, 54.8%

4. Kohl’s, 48.4%

5. Target, 32.7%

6. BJ’s, 30.1%

7. Best Buy, 29.8%

8. Amazon, 28.5%

9. Walmart, 26.9%

10. Dell, 25.8%

11. Newegg, 22.4%

12. The Home Depot, 20.8%

13. Costco, 17.1%

While The Home Depot made the list, it’s important to note that the selection process aimed to capture a diverse representation of major retailers, Happe said. The absence of Mooresville-based Lowe’s home improvement store, for example, may be attributed to specific data availability or other factors in the survey methodology, Happe said.

Discounts by category

Apparel and accessories

1. JCPenney, 57.83%

2. Belk, 54.94%

3. Macy’s, 52.56%

4. Walmart, 52.42%

5. Kohl’s, 43.56%

Computers and phones

1. Kohl’s, 37.75%

2. Best Buy, 29.43%

3. BJ’s, 28.79%

4. Target, 27.38%

5. Amazon, 25.89%

Consumer electronics

1. Newegg, 43.22%

2. Kohl’s, 40.17%

3. Best Buy, 33.44%

4. BJ’s, 29.58%

5. Amazon, 25.01%

Consumer packaged goods

1. Macy’s, 45.09%

2. Kohl’s, 40.16%

3. Belk, 31.94%

4. JCPenney, 28.82%

5. Amazon, 27.08%

Toys

1. Macy’s: 44.52%

2. JCPenney: 40.92%

3. Kohl’s: 36.29%

4. Target: 33.25%

5. Walmart: 27.06%

Appliances

1. Belk, 60.26%

2. JCPenney, 59.46%

3. Macy’s, 47.73%

4. Kohl’s, 40.15%

5. Walmart, 29.78%

Furniture

1. Macy’s, 47.81%

2. Target, 43.66%

3. BJ’s, 32.28%

4. The Home Depot, 26.59%

5. Costco, 23.51%

Jewelry

1. Kohl’s, 71.93%

2. Macy’s, 65.94%

3. JCPenney, 59.20%

4. Costco, 20.40%

Other product categories

1. Belk, 65.79%

2. JCPenney, 63.12%

3. Macy’s 56.10%

4. Kohl’s, 55.74%

5. Newegg, 39.21%