We just finished up our Q&A Part 2 yesterday with our DealPros.  Now that we have a good idea on what stores will have the best deals, today let's talk about trends.

Q: What trends do you predict for Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2012?

Courtney Solstad, My Crazy Savings: More online, less in store.

Erin Huffstetler, My Frugal Home: I think we're going to see some stores ramping up their discounts, as others scale back (Target has already announced they'll offer smaller discounts this year). I also think we'll continue to see more people shifting to shopping online, and with that, bigger attempts for brick-and-mortar stores to lure people back. Target has announced plans to price match competitors this year -- including Amazon, and will be offering free wi-fi in store to make it easier for customers to price match online competitors. Mobile coupons are also going to be a much bigger deal this year. Both Target and Kmart have announced plans to use mobile coupons as part of their holiday strategy.

Kelly Whalen, The Centsible Life: I think more people will shop online, or use apps and mobile phones to price compare.
Christina Brown, Northern Cheapskate: The holiday season will kick-off with big sales starting on Thanksgiving. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will just add fuel to the frenzy!

Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers: Last year's Black Friday offerings were disappointing, to say the least. I'm an Internet reseller fanatic, but I actually didn't make one purchase that day. Having said that, I think the best deals will be offered by online-only outlets such as eBay, Amazon, and Newegg. Granted, the lack of great Black Friday deals last year probably had a lot to do with the recession as companies honed in on their bottom lines. Since we seem to be in the nascent stages of a recovery, perhaps you'll see better deals this year.

Jennie Sanford, Bargain Blessings: The best Black Friday deals will continue their migration toward online shopping during 2012. To keep up with this growing trend, Brick and Mortar stores will be offering more price matching than ever before.

Zack Reyes, Look Before Spending: Unfortunately, I don't think less people will shop on Black Friday. I do think Walmart may pull back from in-store deals due to recent events at Black Friday sales that lead to bad press. I think we will see more, but smaller discounts on Cyber Monday as well.

Karen Rodriguez, Saving The Family Money: Black Friday will still have the in store shoppers it always had. It's a tradition for many people and families. Stores will still compete to see who can open the earliest and who can have the better Prices at those hours. Stores will promote better pricing before 10am or even 12am just to get you in their doors first.

Kelly Snyder, Kansas City Mamas: More people will shop online. With so many of the big box retailers having free wifi - it will be easier and easier to price compare and take shopping decisions and dollars online.

Lynette Rice, Cleverly Simple: I think more people this year will be shopping online. We saw a huge increase last year, and I think that trend will continue. Many stores will offer free shipping on top of their already discounted prices. Why leave the house?

It seems as though that online shopping will be more popular this year but people will still continue to go in stores, since it has become an after Thanksgiving tradition.  Will you be doing your shopping online or in stores this year?  Come back tomorrow for Part 4 in our Black Friday/Cyber Monday series.

(Source: Savings.com)