How fresh is that Black Friday deal or is it recycled from last year?

While scouring Black Friday ads looking for the best deals, you might find the same ones you took advantage of—or missed—last year.

WalletHub found that 18 percent of all deals are recycled this year.

University of Houston College of Technology retail expert Barbara Stewart said recycled deals is a successful strategy for retailers.

"They choose those ads, those products, that were well-received last year, that worked well for consumers and that worked well for their stores," said Stewart.

She said if consumers wanted an item last year, they'll probably want it, again because they're items people need year to year.

"Those ads tend to be for more staple goods. They're not going to be the hottest things, but they're going to be those things that consumers might consistently want," said Stewart.

She said there is something in the hype of a deal, but no deal works if the bottom line doesn't work for the consumers. No matter the price, it's only a deal if you need it.

Retailers with the Most Recycled Deals

  1. Harbor Freight (60.2%)
  2. Office Depot and OfficeMax (30.5%)
  3. Ace Hardware (29.9%)
  4. Sears (29.3%)
  5. JCPenney (28.2%)

Retailers with the Least Recycled Deals

18. Best Buy (8.9%)

19. Lenovo (6.7%)

20. Dell Home (6.0%)

21. Fred Meyer (5.5%)

22. Costco (2.4%)


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