Have you been waiting all year to score the best deal on items you’ve had your eye on for months? Are you hoping to find the best deals for your holiday gifts? Do you know you want to take advantage of the best Black Friday sales but not sure where to begin? We’re here to help!
Traditionally taking place the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday usually oficially kicks off the holiday shopping season. Although the concept of retailers slashing their prices and promoting their sales heavily has taken since the 1980s, it wasn’t until the 2000s until Black Friday sales exploded in popularity. Before the online shopping boom, shoppers lined up for hours to be let into stores, in some cases chaos ensued as shoppers pounced on the best deals. From toys to electronics and everything else in between, consumers around the world would wait all year long to take advantage of Black Friday deals.
As more and more shoppers began to shop online, consumers became able to shop Black Friday deals from the comfort of their own homes. Now major retailers often begin offering and promoting their Black Friday sales as early as October.
It is common for shoppers to wait all year to splurge on items in hopes of getting dramatic deals on Black Friday.
Although there are indeed countless amazing sales to take advantage of during Black Friday, retailers can sometimes promote items as Black Friday deals when in reality the items might not be that great of a deal.
So, how do shoppers know if they are really saving money on items? Read on for tips.
Make a list-During the holiday shopping season, it’s easy to lose track of who you are shopping for and what items you are looking for, let alone what you want to find during Black Friday sales. It’s best to organize yourself-make a list of items you are shopping for, whom they’re for, and what you hope to find on sale during Black Friday. If you have been waiting to purchase items for yourself, for example a laptop or TV, put those items on your list as well. Otherwise, it can will be easy to go “Black Friday crazy” and shop like crazy.
Price check across several different stores and websites-A really quick and easy way to make sure you are taking advantage of the best sales is to price-check across different sites. Try Amazon.com, Target.com and Wal-Mart first. If you are looking for Electronics deals, try Best Buy.
Use online shopping apps, browser extensions and websites - You might already know about browser extensions like Retail Me Not, Shop Savvy and Honey, but there are many websites that leak Blacck Fridayy deals before they are publicized. Try looking up sites like https://bestblackfriday.com/.
Loyalty programs-One of the best ways to be the first to find out about the best deals a store offers is to sign up for their loyalty programs and get on their email list. Retailers send email blasts to their loyalty members with special promo codes and early access deals.
Add items to your cart and wait for prices to fall-A super-easy way to score great deals on specific items is to add theem to your cart. Retailers will send notifications for abandoned carts, sosmetiimes slashing the price dramatically. Do this at several different retailers to really make sure you’re geettting the best deals.
Social media and Facebook “deals” groups-There are a ton of Facebook groups devoted to finding hot deals. Often members will post special promo codes. Google phrases like “best Facebook groups for Amazon deals” to find groups.
Check websites often-Since sites are always rotating their sales, keep checking back often to see if your desired items drop in price. Find out when the sales end and begin for a certain retailer and when the new circulars come out.
Know when to shop-Experts say that the best time to snag items at the best prices is early in the morning.
Don’t rule out shopping in person-Believe it or not, you can still sometimes find the best deals in person. Stores will often offer doorbusters specifically to in-store shoppers.
Make a budget and stick to it-Although it may sound like a no-brainer, it’s a good idea to create a budget and stick to it. It’s never a good idea to go broke during the holidays!
Not sure where to start shopping? We found a great writeup of some of the best early Black Friday deals:
Also, it’s important to remember that many retailers don’t ship internationally. Don’t forget to sign up for your free Trans-Express international shipping address to make sure you’re able to ship your holiday purchases anywhere you like!
Happy Shopping!
