海角大神

Black Friday聽is losing its edge. From years past, we've come to expect that retailers will聽offer their most compelling promotions of the year, and compete for the best prices on popular items during Black Friday weekend and the following Cyber Monday. So, what happened this year?

Sure, a few big names聽came through with offers that lived up to what Black Friday is supposed to be about.聽Kohl's brought back its KitchenAid Mixer deal for $165 plus a $45 gift card, Walmart threw in a $40 gift card with its $249 Xbox One S bundle,聽, and even UGG Australia聽chopped 60 percent off the price of their coveted boots.

These deals were definitely worth the hype, but they were standouts in the sea of fairly basic聽and disappointing discounts offered by聽most major retailers. Why the let-down? We've seen some new trends in Black Friday shopping聽that might explain things.

Black Friday's reputation precedes it.

Let me start by acknowledging that -- before you clicked on this article -- you probably didn't think this聽year's Black Friday haul聽was that disappointing. 聽After all, the聽advertisements were as enthusiastic,聽and the parking lots just as full as they've always been.聽And that's exactly why Black Friday doesn't have to be a big deal anymore: it's become a part of our culture. Retailers don't聽need聽to discount their merchandise to all-time low prices in order to sell聽it off; people will buy stuff just because they've become accustomed to shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.

Here's a little-known secret from someone who spends every day finding the lowest聽prices on popular products: some of the most exciting聽deals聽never get promoted, and the only way to tell if you're actually getting the best price on anything is to spend some time researching it for yourself (or check to see if it's on聽, as we only post items at their lowest online price).

Black Friday has become Black Fri-Week.

In recent years, as retailers race to compete for the attention of Black Friday shoppers, we've seen some changes in the distribution of sales. Stores have tried to get ahead by launching Black Friday doorbusters聽earlier every聽year, and聽extending Cyber Monday savings into the following week. The phrase "Black Five-Day" has even emerged as a common phrase used by retailers to promote their sales. This shift definitely has its benefits, like more online sales, more opportunities to shop, smaller mobs of angry people and fewer聽overall trampling deaths. But in this deal editor's opinion, it's also diluted the聽quality of the deals. This year,聽we saw a lot of discounts across the entire week, which meant fewer showstoppers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Other shopping holidays have picked up speed.

Pop quiz: How many times per聽year can something be at "the lowest price of the year?"

Once, right? Sorry, you failed! But it's not your fault, this language is designed to fool people. Yes, there is a minimum price that any given item can be listed at, but a merchant can choose to set it at that price as many times per year as they want.

For example, a refrigerator marked down to $898 around President's Day聽might be advertised as the "lowest price of the year" to create a sense of urgency, but that doesn't mean President's Day is the only time to get that refrigerator at that price. It will probably be priced at $898 again around Memorial Day, and again during Black Friday in July (because that's a thing now), and then again on Labor Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, AND聽after Christmas.

That's seven聽times throughout the聽year this fridge will be聽at the "bottom of the barrel," "closeout," "super savings," "hot deal," "doorbuster" price. Call it what you want. It's not technically the lowest price of the YEAR, it's just the lowest price that retailer is willing to sell the item for at any given time. Stop panicking about snatching up your metaphorical fridge at the聽"LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR!" If you see a great price on an item you need, but aren't yet ready to buy, wait two months. You'll likely see that price again, with few exceptions.

Using minor national holidays as an excuse to have a major sale has become commonplace as聽retailers vie聽for the increasingly fragmented attention of the modern consumer.聽: what started as a promotion for one retailer in 2015, quickly had other retailers jumping on board with similar sales. In fact, the best part of Prime Day 2016 wasn't the deals offered by Amazon, it was聽.

Because of Amazon, July 15 will likely be聽a popular shopping day for years to come, and that's not great聽news for good old Black Friday.聽Promoting sales in July as having "better than Black Friday pricing"聽means that Black Friday is going to have to share the spotlight.

So, when should I shop?

I don't know, maybe stop worrying so much about shopping! Shop for the things you need when you need them, or plan around minor holiday sales to satiate your savings itch.聽Remember that advertisements are announcements. Don't let them drive your decisions.聽Don't let your fear of missing out lead you into spending money you don't have.

Black Friday will always be an important day for smart consumers, but聽other holidays provide savings opportunities as well. Planning ahead for what you need will save you money, and聽shopping because you feel like you should is unnecessarily costly.聽, and if you need to find the best price聽currently available for any item, at any time, you can probably find it on Brad's Deals.

This story originally appeared on .