It’s the day before Thanksgiving and many of you may be rushing to stores for last minute supplies. For others, today is time to gear up for Thanksgiving sales ahead of Black Friday (see here for a list of stores open tomorrow). But even as the post-Thanksgiving sales are expanded beyond just Black Friday, do you have to wait until Cyber Monday to take advantage of online discounts?

For many retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday, they’re also offering the same deals on their online stores for the entirety of the shopping weekend (see here for details on in-store and online deals from Target and Best Buy). Here are a few reasons to skip the long lines and frantic crowds on Black Friday and shop from the comfort of your couch this year.

5 reasons shopping online is the way to go

It is less hazardous.

If you shop online, you can avoid the frenzied crowds and extreme lines at brick-and-mortar retailers. With limited in-store stock and massive price cuts, Black Friday sales can also be dangerous. Over 85 injuries and nearly 10 deaths have been reported at popular Black Friday retailers in recent years, so your house may be the safest place for shopping. See here for a list of the most dangerous stores to avoid for Black Friday.

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Doorbusters may leave you going home bummed out.

Doorbuster deals are priced the lowest, attracting hundreds of people camp outside stores to be sure they get these deals. But doorbuster deals are of very limited quantity, which means even if you were there early, there is still a huge chance that you’ll miss the worthiest of Black Friday discounts.

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Some items are offered cheaper online.

Black Friday ads from various retailers are now available for preview and if you check it out, you’ll see that some items that are priced low are only offered online. Though these items are of limited quantity, clicking and tapping on your computer still beats the hell out of pushing your way into a store, right?

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You get to shop more stores.

When you decide to shop physically on Black Friday or Thanksgiving, there’s a huge chance that you’ll only be able to visit one store, at best two, because you are already wiped out from your experience in your first store. If you shop online, you can visit at least five online stores in an hour if you know what you are looking for, and don’t have to spend too much time browsing all the pages.

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You get to spend Thanksgiving with your family.

Some retailers have decided to open their doors to customers as early as 5PM on Thanksgiving Day. This means many people who chose to shop when the doors open won’t be around for Thanksgiving dinner, still busy battling their way in or out of the store.

photo credit: hamur0w0 via photopin cc