The 15 Best Stores to Shop for Black Friday Deals In 2022

Black Friday sales are happening everywhere—but these are the stores you shouldn’t skip.
Black Friday sales are happening everywhere—but these are the stores you shouldn’t skip. / agrobacter/iStock via Getty Images
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Braving the crowds on Black Friday requires a game plan. Whether you wake up early that Friday morning or head out the moment you finish your slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving evening, you need to hit the right spots in order to score the best deals. According to WalletHub, there are certain stores where you’re most likely to save big during Black Friday 2022.

The personal finance site looked at ad scans from 16 of the biggest retailers in the U.S. to compile this list of the best places to shop on Black Friday. After crunching the numbers on close to 4000 deals for items in categories like jewelry and appliances, they determined the steepest discounts for 2022.

JCPenney tops the list, with an average discount rate of 64.7 percent to kick off the holiday shopping season. Those savings are concentrated in categories like electronics, apparel, appliances, computers, and phones.

The Southern department store chain Belk holds the second slot, with markdowns averaging at 64.2 percent. In third place is a major JCPenney competitor, Macy’s. Shoppers who hit the retailer on Black Friday will be treated to an average discount rate of 53 percent. Office Depot and OfficeMax, as well as Kohls, round out the top five.

Though prices have gone up on many items in the past year, stores overall are offering better deals in 2022 than they did in 2021. For your best shot at success this Black Friday, keep these tips in mind.

  1. JCPenney
  2. Belk
  3. Macy’s
  4. Office Depot and Office Max
  5. Kohl’s
  6. Lenovo
  7. Target
  8. Big Lots
  9. Academy Sports + Outdoors
  10. The Home Depot
  11. Newegg
  12. Walmart
  13. BJ’s
  14. Amazon
  15. Best Buy

A version of this article originally ran in 2021 and has been updated for 2022.