As the holiday season comes around, consumers prepare for Christmas, buying gifts and other holiday paraphernalia. Some buy those items in stores, while others have converted to shopping online, as it can be more convenient and supposedly less time consuming; however, what most people don’t realize is that there are more benefits to shopping in a store.

Black Friday, which typically takes place on the last Friday of November, is a great opportunity for consumers to get gifts and items at extraordinarily low prices. This event allows for shoppers to buy normally expensive gifts for a fraction of the cost.

For example, on Black Friday in 2011, Walmart sold Xbox 360s for $199 instead of the original $299 price tag. Apple offered its laptops for $101 less in stores and iPads for $40 to $60 less. I don’t know about you, but I would have liked to save hundreds of dollars on my electronics. These deals were only available in stores on Black Friday, so anyone who didn’t shop missed out on huge savings, and in this economic state who wouldn’t want to save a little more?

In terms of savings, Black Friday provides much potential for anyone who is willing to put in a little bit of effort to research the items that they want to buy before they go into the store. If you put in some effort and make a plan to buy specific items at specific stores, you can get what you want quickly and efficiently at a low price. Not only will you get a good deal, but you’re also buying your gifts before the hectic rush of the holiday season, when some stores run out of certain items. People who shop after Black Friday sometimes find that they can’t locate that gift they wanted to buy. By shopping early, people can save time and spend more time with their families during the holiday season while still getting the gifts they want.

Those who complain that Black Friday is hectic and dangerous fail to realize that these accidents are few and far between and are just isolated incidents that do not transfer to the behavior of every person on Black Friday. The majority of Black Friday shopping, in my personal experience, is orderly.

Another benefit of shopping in a store on a day such as Black Friday is that you can actually see what you are purchasing. You can try on that sweater, inspect electronics for defects and see if the item you are buying is of good quality.

Compare that to shopping online: you buy something, pay for shipping and wait for the item to come in the mail. Sometimes, when you open the item, you find that it is broken or damaged. After that you go through the same purchase again and hope that they don’t send you a broken item again. Isn’t that tedious? Going to a store and being able to see and inspect what you are buying solves this problem.

While shopping online can be convenient, people should realize that opportunities such as Black Friday allow them to efficiently get what they want at a cheap price in stores.