While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, don’t panic. If you fear that you missed out or won’t be able to find good deals for less, it’s not true. Shoppers can still find lower prices by taking advantage of the following tips:
1. Get social.
While random thoughts, celebrity updates and goofy gripes fill Twitter’s rapidly moving feed, deal seekers can actually find what they are looking for in 140 characters or less. Did you know Twitter is the place to be for savvy shoppers?
It pays to follow your favorite brands, because they often take to Twitter to announce discounts. Follow your favorite brands as well as coupon sites such as Groupon and Living Social. Some brands like American Express and Target will even give you extra discounts or a chance to win cash if you use their designated hashtag.
2. Use gift cards.
Gift cards are increasingly popular, and for good reason. According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers will spend more than 30 billion on gift cards this year. Just be sure to order the ones you need early so you don’t end up paying for expedited shipping. Also, check to make sure your avoiding purchase fees. Most retailers don’t put purchase fees on their cards but some general interest cards do.
3. Take advantage of browser add-ons.
Put the deal-seeking on auto pilot with a browser add-on. These tools, such as Honey or Invisible Hand, instantly search for promos codes to your favorite stores. The bar sits on the top of your screen and serves as your digital deal seeker. It will apply the discounts all on its own, making your job even easier, and also give you a heads up if a competitor is offering a lower price on the same product. No online shopper should be without one.
4. Ask for a price adjustment.
If you’re not the best at comparison shopping or if you find the process a bit frustrating, don’t worry — many retailers are now allowing consumers to get price adjustments after the fact. If you buy an item quickly and then you see the same item for less elsewhere, or even if it goes on sale at the same store, then go back into the store in and get a price adjustment. Walk away with store credit and use the money to get another gift or save it for another time.
5. Make your smartphone work smarter.
Smartphones are expensive and many of us wouldn’t mind skipping a payment or two over the holiday season, but they do come with some useful shopping tools, and you might as well take advantage of them. Use an app like ShopSavvy. It becomes your discount detective and let’s you know when a deal becomes available. Try BuyVia for Android and iOS Users and be alerted on deals at outlet stores. You can also read up on reviews and product descriptions all in one place. You can also compare brick and mortar prices to online finds to get the best price while shopping using Smoopa. Scan the barcode to compare and show the price to a person in charge to reduce the price of the items you aim to buy. This is also available to iOS and Android users. The RetailMeNot app also makes it easy to search for and store coupons virtually, so you don’t have to bother carrying around a lot of paper coupons.
6. Get the travel bug and spend less.
In the past, shopping for travel deals meant limited options in terms of airline and hotel chains. That is no longer the case. Comparison websites make it easy to search for deals across a wide range of brands. Also, shoppers looking for a travel gift card can now rejoice. The Hotels.com gift card is a convenient and flexible alternative and can be redeemed at over 100,000 hotels, chain properties, resorts and even bed and breakfast accommodations all over the world via the Hotels.com website.
Celebrate the holiday while spending less. Use the tips mentioned to get every gift on your list at a reduced price. Deals still abound. You can make your recipients happy and your wallet at the same time.
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6 Tips for Holiday Shoppers Who Want to Spend Less originally appeared on usnews.com
