Thinking about scoring the lowest price of the year on a new TV, smartphone, tablet, or high-tech gadget? Use these five tips to be prepared on November 27 to catch some of the best deals on Black Friday this year.
Over the past few years, Black Friday has become synonymous with hordes of Americans busting through the front doors of stores to take advantage of discounted prices. Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping for millions of people worldwide.
It is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Last year, this “holiday” saw 93.2 million buyers shopping online who bought products and services worth $7.4 billion, which is an all-time high. And, online shoppers only made 40% of the total buyers for Black Friday in 2019.
It is the most highly awaited shopping day of the year. While Black Friday isn’t an officially recognized US holiday, most employers give the day off to their employees, except those working in retail. So, everybody is into Black Friday shopping!
Whether you prefer online shopping or get a buzz from the massive crowds (although you should avoid this considering the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic), there’s a deal waiting for you this Black Friday. Here are five tips for snagging the best deals.
1. Start saving early ahead
Data shows that the average adult plans to spend about $400 on Black Friday sales. How much do you plan to spend? Well, that depends on what you are planning to buy.
If you’ve got your mindset on a certain product you can’t wait to have but can’t afford to buy now, you’re waiting for the Black Friday sales to get it. If that’s the only thing on your shopping list, you should have an idea of how much money you need.
However, if there’s more you’d like to purchase on Black Friday, you should start saving already.
2. Bring the ads with you
Most, if not all, brands will offer a “lower price” guarantee on Black Friday. Yet, what many of them forget to mention or put it in fine print, is that sometimes you may have to bring proof of that exact product being advertised for a smaller price.
For example, let’s say that you see an ad for the TV you want to purchase for 20% off. You then go into the store, but actually can use the discount because you didn’t bring proof for the ad you’ve seen online. Frustrating, right?
Well, make sure that doesn’t happen to you on Black Friday because you will miss out on many great deals. So, be prepared with print ads you’ve saved to have a proof for the advertised price.
Moreover, if you want to save even more money on Black Friday, you can use coupons from the stores you want to buy. Many large retailers offer coupons for Black Friday, such as Target Black Friday coupons. Make sure you use these coupons too to save big on your purchases.
3. Resist the impulse buying
When Black Friday starts, you’ll be thrown into a world full of retail temptations. All brands will bombard you with emails, notifications, and ads about their biggest sales, trying to get your attention. And, most likely, most of them will succeed because of the discounts they offer.
However, this can quickly turn into a “Confessions of a Shopaholic” scene if you don’t manage to resist impulse buying. That’s right when Black Friday will be over, you’ll be in despair trying to find out what happened with all your money. You’ll have no idea how you allowed yourself to be convinced by so many stores that you need all the products you have purchased.
What’s more, if you get caught in impulse buying, you’ll likely also forget what you were planning to buy in the first place and end up without those products in your shopping cart.
So, our advice is to make a shopping plan and stick to it. It would help if you’d have all the items you need and their prices listed and budgeted to make sure that you stick to that shopping list.
We get it, self-control and Black Friday don’t necessarily go well together, but a plan can help you resist any sudden urges and have a productive shopping day that won’t blow your budget.
4. Start doing research well before Friday
Here’s the trick: a bad product is a bad deal, no matter how little you’ve paid for it. And, guess what, brands use to their advantage the fact that customers don’t research the quality of their products before adding them to their shopping carts and only consider the small price. Well, don’t allow brands to win, or you will end up with a bunch of bad products, which you’ve paid a little for but in total left a hole in your wallet.
So, if you want to make sure that you snag the best deals on Black Friday this year, you also need to make sure that the products you want are worth paying for.
Luckily, this information is only one Google search away. Research each product you are planning on buying on Black Friday and read their online reviews and specs.
5. Compare prices to recognize really good deals
On Black Friday, when you’re shopping online, it can be daunting to check every retailer’s site that sells the same product for the best price. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to because you can simply use a price comparison site.
That’s right, there’s a tool out there that can tell you which store sell the product you want for less money. Plus, by comparing prices, you’ll be sure that you won’t pay more than you should for a product or service.