The usual advice is 'wait for Black Friday,' but tracking actual price history across a full year shows that's only true for some categories, not all of them.
TVs genuinely do hit their lowest prices in the two weeks around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sometimes 30-40% below their typical price for the rest of the year. That advice holds up.
Laptops were the surprise. Back-to-school season in late July through August consistently beat Black Friday pricing on mid-range laptops in our tracking, likely because retailers compete hard for student buyers before Black Friday deals even start.
Headphones and audio gear showed the least seasonal pattern of anything we tracked, discounts appeared somewhat randomly throughout the year tied to new model releases rather than a calendar season, so watching for a new model announcement is a better signal than waiting for a specific month.
Smart home devices dropped hardest in early January, right after the holiday rush, likely retailers clearing holiday inventory before new product lines arrive at spring trade shows.
The takeaway: 'wait for Black Friday' is decent generic advice, but if you know exactly what you're buying, checking the category-specific pattern can save you from waiting for a discount that was never coming during that particular sale.