Tips for Black Friday shopping and saving
With Thanksgiving Day now behind us, the unofficial holiday shopping season is well underway.
Somewhere between watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and passing the cranberry sauce, consumers managed to spend $5.6 billion in online purchases on Turkey Day, up 5.5% from the year-ago figure, according to data from Adobe Analytics. The growth highlights a continued shift to online shopping, with consumers having spent out $76.7 billion in online purchases in the first 23 days of November this year. Black Friday is expected to bring in $9.6 billion in online sales, up 5.7% from a year ago, Adobe data shows.
Check out CBS Essentials for information on the best Black Friday deals:
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- 25 best laptop deals of Black Friday 2023 to shop today
- 25 best Black Friday TV deals 2023 has to offer today
But Black Friday shoppers, beware: Gift prices are climbing. So if you want to cross off every item on your holiday shopping list, you'll likely have to dig for discounts. Not sure how to bargain hunt to keep your seasonal shopping spree below budget? Here are expert tips on how to score the best deals this holiday season.
Don't get duped by doorbuster deals
During Black Friday, many major retailers offer exclusive doorbuster deals, or deeply discounted goods, at their brick-and-mortar stores. However, if a deal seems too good to be true, it's often because it is, Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet, told CBS MoneyWatch.
According to Palmer, doorbuster deals are often offered on outdated and lower-quality products. Additionally, those deals are often harder to snag because they typically only apply to items that are in "very limited supply," Palmer told CBS MoneyWatch.
Palmer advises shoppers to have an idea of what they're looking to buy before visiting their local stores. Shoppers should also consider how flexible they're willing to be on an item's make and model, she said.
Stack store discounts with credit card offers
During the holidays, many credit card issuers offer additional discounts for purchases at popular retailers. To see if your credit card comes with any special offers, check your care issuer's app or website. If available, you should opt into holiday offers to get extra discounts (often in the form of statement credits) for shopping at your favorite stores, Palmer said.
While retailers may limit how many coupons you can use per purchase, you can easily combine credit card-issued discounts with store coupons, allowing you to maximize your savings at checkout.
"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."
Time your purchases with deep discounts
Knowing when to shop for certain items, can save you big bucks around the holidays, according to Palmer.
If you're looking to scoop up the season's hottest toys, postpone your shopping trip until right before the major gift-giving holidays, Palmer advises. Conversely, if you're looking to pick up a television, computer or smartphone, you'll likely find better deals on or around Black Friday, when electronic prices are likely to dip, she said.
Personal finance expert Andrea Woroch advises shoppers to refrain from purchasing beauty products, apparel and footwear on Black Friday. Better deals on such items can be found on Cyber Monday using coupon codes sent by stores via text alerts and newsletters, she recently told Kiplinger.
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 bargains
Using e-commerce-focused browser extensions can help you maximize your savings during your next online shopping spree. Paypal Honey, an in-browser bargain-hunting tool, automatically searches for and tests available coupon codes for more than 30,000 online shops. Meanwhile, Rakuten offers cash-back deals for shopping at over 3,500 stores, including Target, Macy's, Walmart, Ulta and Nike.
Lastly, Amazon shoppers can use tools such as CamelCamelCamel to monitor millions of product prices and receive alerts when those prices drop.
Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News' BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press' web scraping team.