Black Friday, move over: the 10 best stores for Cyber Monday

If you've been a studious deal-slinger and are currently preparing for winning results during this Black Friday season, then you will have read, digested, and hopefully memorized our predictions of which five stores will offer the very best deals once the madness hits. However, despite Amazon and Walmart's reign during the rush and thrill of the entire Black Friday week, there are a selection of other merchants that are also worth your time, energy, and hard-earned bucks once Cyber Monday rolls around.

Thanks to their stellar performance throughout last year's Cyber Monday period — our beloved Black Friday's younger, but equally budget-conscious sister sale day — these stores came out on top of the class for the 3-day period, from Sunday through the Tuesday after Cyber Monday. That's not to say that these stores didn't throw out some impressive deals on Black Friday itself, but most listed here held back their very best stuff until the first wave sales had passed.

Since these tempting 10 stores flaunted the most popular sales and a bucket-load of Editors' Choice offers last year during Cyber Monday, there's a good chance they'll want to replicate that form this time around. With this roundup in hand, you'll have a plan of action for our second-favorite shopping day of the year.

The Top 10 Best Stores to Hit for Cyber Monday Sales & Savings

Google Play

Best for: Those looking to bag a freebie after an exhaustive Black Friday period of shopping and spending.

If last year's spoils were anything to go by, Google Play will be the one-stop shop for any movie-buff or music-lover who may have overstretched themselves on Black Friday. Its collection of free MP3s last year (which included a wide range of contemporary numbers, as well as crowd-pleasing classics) was one of the most popular deals of the whole Cyber Monday period with our freebie-loving readers.

Home Depot

Best for: Thrifty D.I.Y aficionados and handymen who don't mind a trip in-store to collect their goodies.

Home Depot will be, as ever, a reliable store for bagging a cartful of bargains throughout the entire shopping season. Last year, we saw a hefty 17 deals worthy of the Editors' Choice mark over Cyber Monday — the highest accolade awarded by our hard-to-please, deal-loving editors. Expect to have to make the trip to your local store to pick up your discounted spoils, as many top offers (which have previously included tools, garden items, and office furniture) will otherwise incur high shipping charges.

Ralph Lauren

Best for: Sartorially-inclined shoppers who are looking to stock up on high-quality basics likely to hit the best price of the year.

Although Black Friday will remain the leading sales day for most of our favorite stores, we've found that it's best to hold off splashing out on apparel and shoes until Cyber Monday rolls around. Ralph Lauren provided us a fine example of this last year when its Cyber Monday sale beat that which the store flaunted on Black Friday, cutting up to an additional 25% off many popular items just two days later. Highlights from the sale included all-time price lows on winter-ready outerwear and shoes, so we'll be looking to prepare ourselves for the cold snap again this year at the iconic designer store.

Joe's New Balance Outlet

Best for: Runners and fitness try-hards who look for motivation in a stylish, albeit inexpensive, pair of sneakers.

Anyone on the hunt for a new pair of kicks can be sure to expect some top-notch price drops at Joe's New Balance Outlet. On Cyber Monday in 2013, we listed a more-than-substantial 13 Editors' Choice deals from the store. This included 11 pairs of New Balance men's and women's sneakers and boots that plummeted to less than $30. That yielded incredible savings of up to $74 on each pair, so we're banking on similarly show-stopping savings from the outlet again this year.

Boscov's

Best for: House-proud savers looking to score some cheap-as-chips kitchen items, from discounted dishes to low-cost cookware.

During last year's event, Boscov's offered free sitewide shipping, which made its already-inexpensive home items a bargain, befitting the most stingy of house-proud savers. All seven deals we listed from the store over the Cyber Monday period were impressive enough to bag the Editors' Choice nod, including Pyrex dishes, stainless steel pots, and cutlery sets that went for less than $4 each.

6pm

Best for: Big discounts on popular labels, including The North Face, Columbia, and other sportswear favorites.

Similar to Ralph Lauren's form and in line with our findings that apparel and shoes see the best discounts come Cyber Monday, 6pm offered one of the best sales we've ever seen from the store on that day. As well as slashing price tags by up to 70% on brands like PUMA, New Balance, Oakley, and your favorite outerwear labels, it also cut an additional 20% off sitewide — which remains the best storewide offer we have ever seen at 6pm.

Tommy Hilfiger

Best for: Preppy guys and gals looking for some designer threads at the best possible price.

Without wanting to drill home our point too much, Tommy Hilfiger joins the list of clothing stores expected to save its best offers until Cyber Monday. When the day rolled around last year, the fashion house halved prices across the store in its strongest sale we'd ever seen. It is to date the best ever deal we've listed from Tommy Hilfiger. So, here's hoping for similar show-stopping stuff in 2014 from the all-American favorite.

Groupon

Best for: Shoppers looking to save on a myriad of treats from credit offers to restaurant reservations.

Groupon plays host to impressive Editors' Choice-worthy discounts on a daily basis, but it was last year's whopping Cyber Monday Sale that sent our readers into a frenzy. Over all of Black Friday week (including Cyber Monday), the sale — which slashed prices sitewide by up to 90% — was the third-most popular deal of the incredible 4,075 we listed.

Crocs

Best for: Scoring some all-time price lows after some likely lackluster shoe deals on Black Friday.

Just as we've shown that clothing stores tend to save their best sales and savings until after Black Friday, popular shoe stores have followed the same trend, including Crocs. The store rolled out its best sale of the year on Cyber Monday in 2013, cutting an additional 35% off all orders. It put numerous popular (and some bizarre) styles at the best prices we had ever seen, including the much-loved sneakers and canvas shoes in its range.

REI-OUTLET

Best for: Keen campers looking to stock up on discounted outdoor essentials.

Reader-favorite REI-OUTLET put in a solid performance throughout Black Friday, which carried through to Cyber Monday. Unlike many other stores' best Black Friday offers, its sitewide sale lasted through Cyber Monday. We saw equally good, if not better, discounts on big-brand winter boots, hydration packs, and jackets then (aided by the free shipping offer running through the week).

Whatever goodies these stores have to offer on Cyber Monday, we're expecting great things from the most exciting shopping season of the year. You can keep up to date with what's the cream of the crop of each day's spoils by subscribing to the DealNews Select Newsletter from which you will get a daily recap of all our deals (you never know when a Cyber Monday price will be released!), or you can download the DealNews app.

Donna Doyle is an editor for Dealnews.com, where this article first appeared.