If you’re like most people, you spend several hundred to a couple of thousand dollars every year buying gifts for the people on your list. The holidays are the best time to snap up great gifts, but you want to be careful not to overspend and wreck your budget.
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Plan Ahead
Even on Black Friday you still need to bargain hunt to be sure that you’re getting the best deals. Whether you’re shopping in person or shopping online, you still need to plan and have the willpower to stick to your plan.
Related Article: Black Friday 2020 – What You Need To Know
There are many tactics you can employ to shop like an expert. Don’t be a one and done person. If you choose one store or one website and you buy everything there, you could miss out on better savings at other stores or websites.
That same $700 laptop that you want might be $500 somewhere else. You need to check across multiple sites and visit multiple stores that will be open for the sale. Don’t let yourself fall for any pressure sales tactics.
If you don’t need something or can’t think of someone who might want it as a gift, leave that item where it’s at no matter what kind of a great deal it is. Understand that this year, retailers are rolling out the equivalent to the red carpet of shopping events.
That’s because the end of the year is approaching, and businesses need to make sure they turn a profit. So these stores are going to promote big sale items and offer discounts and other perks for shoppers.
Don’t Be shy to ask for more
If you see something you want and the sale price isn’t that much of a bargain, ask someone in charge or email the business and ask what kind of further discount you can get, if any.
If free shipping isn’t being offered, ask for that. Don’t buy an item if you haven’t done your advanced check. Sometimes what looks like the deal of a lifetime turns out not to be.
This usually happens when stores put items up for sale that aren’t the same quality as similar items. For example, when all the expensive 4K televisions go on sale, people snatch them up.
Stores usually put similar televisions on sale too, but ones that don’t have the same high level of quality. Don’t get so caught up in the shopping frenzy that you’ll settle for less.
If a store runs out of an item, ask for a rain check. You might not get it, but it won’t hurt to ask. Pre-order hot items if you can. If it’s something that’s in demand, this is a better way to make sure you get it before it releases.
Sometimes manufacturers offer customer discounts over and above what the site offers. You can enter a code or coupon and get the price knocked down even more.
One shopping tip that experts use is to load your shopping cart, but don’t check out. Retailers will think you’ve changed your mind and try to entice you to return and finish the transaction by offering you more, such as free shipping or more savings.
Black Friday Deals Will Stick Around
The biggest sale event of the year is the much anticipated Black Friday. Many people plan for this day for months and get their lists ready so that when the time is right, they can nab the stuff they want.
Thanks to the pandemic, a lot of things have changed in life, especially with shopping, and this includes the way that Black Friday is going to be done this year. Many of the retailers aren’t just sticking with one day for the sales.
Instead, they’re offering deals on select items that will last a lot longer. Each retailer will have different lengths of time the deals will last as well as what times the best deals will hit the websites.
But some of the stores are offering sales that are going to last for several weeks and even into months-long events. These deals are going to be available, not just in stores, but with the online retailers’ home pages as well.
The purpose for this action is that by spreading out the shopping event, stores can cut down on the urgency of crowds congregating in hopes of getting the hottest items. When the supply is able to meet the demand, it lessens the stress on shoppers, too and many stores are planning to stock more in preparation for this holiday event.
What you’re going to want to do is to check out the websites of all your favorite shopping places. Look under the Black Friday heading or links to see what their sales prices are going to be on the items that you want.
You’ll notice that many of these stores will have sales that are going to start long before the day after Thanksgiving. Some are going to begin the first week of November and last right up until a few days before Christmas.
Other stores will let the sales continue through the end of the year. By checking out what the stores you love are offering, you’ll be able to shop in a safer manner. Plus, if you check before the sale date and time hits, you’ll know exactly how to budget.
Some shoppers like going out right after they have their Thanksgiving meal in hopes of scoring some good deals. But this year is going to be different. Because things have been so hectic, many stores are opting to stay closed all day on Thanksgiving for 2020.
Make sure that you sign up for your stores’ mailing lists so that you’ll be able to keep up to date with what deals are being offered. You might also get the opportunity to save even more money on sale items by getting special email codes.
Small Business Saturday Changes
The day for shoppers to celebrate buying from small businesses takes place on Small Business Saturday. This sales event has been around for about a decade and takes place every year right after Black Friday.
The purpose of this day is to help bring the crowds into small businesses, especially those which are often overshadowed by the holiday sales offered through retail giants. Since its inception, this Saturday shopping event has seen large crowds gathering in order to find deals at their local shops.
This year, the number of people shopping for deals on this sales day is going to grow. More people than last year will be shopping at their local stores for Small Business Saturday.
However, there have been some changes in how the shopping is being done this year due to the widespread effect of Covid. These changes will see some small businesses that may not have previously offered curbside pickup now doing so.
Most of these businesses now have an online presence where shoppers can find what they want to purchase and either pick it up curbside or have it shipped to their home. This way, they can get great deals without ever having to enter the store.
These changes will still allow shoppers to continue to support local buying from smaller businesses, yet adhere to social distancing and safety guidelines. Just like the bigger retail stores, these small businesses will be advertising their sales.
There may be group marketing efforts done among businesses that are similar. Some stores may have a specific theme or target items for sale that are alike, such as all sports gear, or beauty supplies.
Small Business Saturday may also notify shoppers by mailing out postcards or by having posters in the front windows of the shop advertising the sales. Many of these businesses will link to their shops using their social media platforms and will share special deals, coupon offers, and more.
Some of these stores may create specific group targets on social media using themes, hashtags or special GIFs. For small businesses that are in the food industry, instead of offering goods, they may offer free items from the menu, a kids-eat-free offer, or BOGO deals.
Other stores will be taking advantage of online marketing strategies using popular social media platforms. Many of these platforms allow for consumer-targeted ads as well as allowing a place where local businesses can connect with both loyal and potential customers.
Some of the ways these businesses may advertise will include gift items offered by the store for customers to have a chance to win. If you have a favorite local business, you’ll want to go to their website to sign up for their newsletter or get on their mailing list so that you don’t miss out on any of the holiday deals that will be offered. Make sure you call, too, since some won’t have a website to notify customers from.
