When are the best video game deals? It might surprise you

Many Americans wait until after Thanksgiving to find deals on gifts and other items on their holiday shopping lists. Black Friday and Cyber Monday do offer significant savings on some of the season's hottest products in time for Christmas Day, but it could pay for those who wait.

If you can hold past this weekend, the best deals on some consumer electronics won't arrive until December 27 — a full two days after Santa's sleigh makes its rounds — according to retail data from Adobe Analytics.

A full range of smaller consumer electronic devices, including video games and consoles, smart speakers, tablets and object-locating fobs are expected to be heavily discounted after Christmas.

“If you have the patience and luxury to wait until after Christmas, then December 27th is going to be your best day for consumer electronics — we are expecting 27% discounts on that day,” said Ryan Fleisch, head of product marketing for Adobe Advertising Cloud.

After Christmas, retailers are eager to clear out remaining inventory to make room for newer products — hence the bigger-than-usual discounts.

• Huge Black Friday 2019 deals, from the editors of CNET
• Here are Walmart's biggest Black Friday 2019 deals
• CNET Holiday Gift Guide for 2019

That said, video games and consoles are among the hottest gifts for kids ages 11 to 15, and the most popular systems, including the Sega Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Lite, could sell out long before December 27. So, too, could accompanying games including Pokémon Sword and Shield, Death Stranding and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

“If you want the hot games, buy them now because it's the hot gift for kids ages 11 to 15,” Fleisch warned.

Waiting for those games that aren't on the so-called hotlist could save shoppers cash. 

“If you can wait, December 27th is going to be your best day for gaming and electronics as far as discounts go,” Fleisch said. 

Discounts may still be offered on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but they won't be the deepest, Fleisch said. 

And of course some consumer electronics will go on sale sooner. 

The best day to shop for computers will be December 1, when they'll be marked down about 18%, according to Adobe's predictions. And shop for savings of up to 19% on televisions on Cyber Monday.