With the arrival of the holiday shopping season, you're probably preparing to grab fabulous deals. Two major shopping events usually have supremacy: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While both retail extravaganzas offer unbeatable discounts, which has excellent bargains? It would help if you strategized the shopping to get maximum savings from these and get the items on your wish list. The difference between these two shopping extravaganzas has been good enough for anyone to make better choices and extend one's holiday budget further.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer straightforward sales but international extravaganzas of shopping. Since the 1960s, Black Friday has traditionally marked the beginning of the holiday shopping season in America. Stores would offer deep discounts to tempt consumers into their shops to start what was usually the busiest part of their year. As years went by, this became an extremely well-anticipated event where stores began opening up earlier, even earlier,g on Thanksgiving Day itself.

As online shopping took off in the early 2000s, it became apparent that online sales spiked on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Thus, Cyber Monday was born in 2005. What began strictly as a tech product shopping day soon enveloped all online promotions. The advantage of shopping while at home or at work added to online discounts only, creating quite a hot product.

What began with American shopping traditions has spread globally. Most parts of Europe, Asia, and elsewhere have joined in on the sales events, usually adopting them to make them relevant to local traditions. Indeed, this phenomenon has brought about other shopping holidays in different countries, including Singles' Day, pioneered by the Chinese.

Whereas Black Friday traditionally falls the day after Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday falls the first Monday after the holiday. Black Friday has also bled further onto the weekend and even days before Thanksgiving. True to the naming convention, Cyber Monday is a single digital shopping day.

The most significant difference, however, is where the deals are located. Black Friday, initially and historically, started as an in-store shopping craze where doorbusters would flood brick-and-mortar shops. While most retailers have moved to include online deals, the main action remains in-store. Conversely, Cyber Monday is an online deal only, targeting e-commerce enthusiasts.

Generally speaking, Black Friday still offers the best deals on appliances, TVs, and furniture but boasts the best sales regarding clothes and toys. Cyber Monday nails tech gadgets, laptops, and travel deals. You usually get more competitive prices with smaller electronics and digital products during this online event.

Black Friday often wins in electronics since big-ticket items like TVs, laptops, and gaming consoles see significant markdowns and serve as "doorbusters" for major retailers. Still, Cyber Monday can be surprisingly competitive with its small-gadget deals on everything from smartphones and tablets to smart home gadgets.

For the best fashion savings, Cyber Monday wins. This is a great time to stock up with site-wide discounts and save even more than on Black Friday on shoes, accessories, and designer brands. Moreover, many online sites offer free shipping to sweeten the pot for even more significant savings.

Black Friday wins on home items. Seek discounts on furniture, mattresses, and significant appliances from retailers; kitchen gadgets and small appliances will be all right, too. Cyber Monday may be respectable for soft home goods, such as home decor and bedding, but generally cannot compete with in-store discounts on more significant items.

Your best bet for travel deals is Cyber Monday. Airlines, hotels, and travel websites extend their exclusive online discounts for flights, vacation packages, and hotel stays. Experiences such as concert tickets, spa treatments, and theme-park admissions may offer better savings on Black Friday.

The key to saving most while shopping during these sales is to be prepared. Make your list and research the usual prices of things that interest you. This way, you'll know real bargains and won't make impulsive buys. To accomplish this, sign up for newsletters from your favourite retailers to access sales and other offers early.

Follow price comparison sites and apps to track the prices of items across retailers. Set up price alerts for items you plan to spend money on, and you will be informed when those items fall in price. Most retailers have a mobile app with exclusive discounts; grab those before sales start. Also, remember to clear up your browser cache and cookies to ensure fresh prices.

Timing is everything when it comes to scoring the best deals. While Black Friday has been offering great discounts in nearly every category, some purchases will be exclusively better on Cyber Monday. Understanding the strengths of each sale will help one make the most of holiday shopping.

Black Friday remains the avenue used to get big-ticket items and in-store experiences. You'll get unbeatable deals on:

Electronics: Televisions, laptops, game consoles

Domestic Appliances: Washing machine, refrigerator, microwave oven

Furniture: Sofa, dining table, bed

Yet many retailers only offer these doorbuster deals in-store, creating a frenetic, if somewhat chaotic, shopping experience.

Cyber Monday is all about online shopping convenience. It's powerful for Clothing and accessories, Travel Deals, Digital goods, and subscriptions. This gives them an edge in the price comparison factor across websites, allowing them to offer the best discount possible.

Savvier shoppers will play one event off the other: finding the absolute must-haves in physical items on Black Friday, then going back online on Cyber Monday to fill in and maybe catch last-minute deals. You spread your shopping out across two days to maximize the likelihood of finding the right gifts at the right price.

As you plan your holiday shopping strategy, consider your priorities and preferences. Black Friday offers the excitement of in-store deals and doorbusters, while Cyber Monday provides convenience and online-exclusive discounts. Both days can yield significant savings on popular items. Your best approach may be to take advantage of both, scouting Black Friday deals for big-ticket items and using Cyber Monday to fill in gaps.