With Thanksgiving behind us, the unofficial Black Friday holiday shopping season has begun.
According to Adobe Analytics data, in between watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and passing the cranberry sauce, consumers spent $5.6 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, up 5.5% over the previous year. Consumers spent $76.7 billion on online purchases in the first 23 days of November this year, highlighting a steady trend in online shopping. According to Adobe estimates, Black Friday online sales will total $9.6 billion, up 5.7% from last year.
However, Black Friday consumers beware: gift prices are rising. So, if you want to check everything off your holiday shopping list, you’ll have to look for deals. Not sure where to look for bargains to keep your holiday shopping frenzy within budget? Here are some expert recommendations for getting the finest prices this Christmas season.
Don’t get taken in by doorbuster deals
Many big retailers offer unique doorbuster offers or significantly reduced goods at their physical stores on Black Friday. However, if an offer appears to be too good to be true, it usually is, according to Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet.
Palmer claims that doorbuster prices are frequently provided on outdated and low-quality products. Furthermore, those deals are often more difficult to obtain because they typically apply only to things in “very limited supply,” according to Palmer of CBS MoneyWatch.
Palmer suggests that buyers have an idea of what they want to buy before going to their local retailers. She advises shoppers to assess how flexible they are on the manufacturer and model of an item.
Combine retail discounts and credit card incentives
Many credit card companies provide additional discounts for purchases at popular merchants over the holidays. Check your credit card issuer’s app or website to see whether your card comes with any special incentives. Palmer recommends taking advantage of holiday specials if they are available to obtain additional discounts (typically in the form of statement credits) for purchases at your favorite businesses.
While merchants may limit the number of coupons you may use per purchase, you can easily combine credit card discounts with store coupons to optimize your savings at the register.
“A great way to shop is to stack those discounts on top of each other,” Palmer said. “You might get a 10% discount through your credit card, and then you get a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal that adds another 10% [discount] to your purchase.”
Purchases at big discounts should be made at the right time
According to Palmer, knowing when to buy specific products might save you a lot of money during the holidays.
Palmer recommends deferring your shopping trip until immediately before the major gift-giving holidays if you want to get your hands on the season’s top toys. If you want to buy a television, computer, or smartphone, you’ll probably find better offers on or around Black Friday, when electrical prices are likely to fall, she added.
Andrea Woroch, a personal finance expert, encourages buyers to avoid buying cosmetic items, clothing, and footwear on Black Friday. She previously told Kiplinger that better bargains on similar things can be found on Cyber Monday by using promo codes offered by shops via text alerts and newsletters.
And then there are items to wait on altogether. “Toys will be marked down further the last two weeks of December and winter apparel is cheapest the last few days before Christmas, and right after,” said Palmer. Hold off buying bedding and linen until the new year, during January’s “white sales.”
Use browser extensions to find deals
Using e-commerce-specific browser extensions might help you save the most money on your next online shopping trip. Paypal Honey, an in-browser bargain-hunting application, searches for and validates available discount codes for over 30,000 online stores. Rakuten, on the other hand, provides cash-back discounts for purchases at over 3,500 stores, including Target, Macy’s, Walmart, Ulta, and Nike.
Finally, Amazon customers may use programs like CamelCamelCamel to track millions of product prices and receive alerts when they fall.
