Holiday Shopping Hacks You Need to Take Advantage of During Festive Season

Holiday shopping is usually a necessary task during the month of December, whether you dread it or you are filled with a lot of anticipation.

However, during festive seasons, holiday shopping can make you overrun your budget, or worse still it can lead to piling of debt. Added to the situation the world is undergoing this year, it can be very tricky doing the normal festive celebrations.

Take, for instance, the crowded aisles and kilometers-long shopping lines, these areas are worth skipping this year.

This means that you can turn to online shopping instead of conventional mall visits.to achieve this, it is vital that you master the basics of online business communication support available.

Fortunately, in this post, we’ve compiled some holiday shopping hacks to help you prevent putting a damper on this season of the year and your bank account. Below are eight ways to have great holiday deals during this shopping season.

1. Set up price alerts

Regardless of what you are looking for, whether it is the best holiday flight offer or the latest fashion design or electronics, you no longer have to check your favorite sites to see if the prices have gone down.

Most online businesses provide you with the option of setting up alerts, to allow you see when the prices for the things you have your eyes on are dropped. Simply sign in with your email address and wait for notifications showing the latest prices.

Ensure you trust your grits and constantly be on the watch for fraudsters involved with this kind holiday shopping hacks, it is best to buy the product before it goes past your range if you notice the prices are increasing weekly.

Not everything that seems too good to be true is the real deal. So ensure you do your research before you decide to plunk your credit card down.

2. Go incognito

This is a crafty fact that you may have not known: the prices advertised online sometimes varies depending on the location or the former shopping history.

For instance, if you are browsing from a rich zip code or an area where there is less competition to your chosen retailer, you may end up spending more for the same than the person browsing from a low-class region.

To avoid this, it is important to do all your online holiday shopping in disguise mode. This way you are sure that your browsing history will not be traced and you can confidently shop knowing that you are not going to be charged more based on your location or interest.

3. Save on shipping

You may have found the best deals which you wish not to ignore, but shipping during the holiday can leave you with a huge dent on your budget.

However, there are a few subtle ways you can use to save money on shipping during this holiday season and still receive you items delivered on time.

Author credit: By RG72 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117641268

Prior planning is always the best way of doing this. Doing so allows you to choose free shipping offers or go for the lowest-cost shipping without the fear of your products arriving late.

Nevertheless, if you miss a period of low-cost shipping, you can still try getting your items delivered to a physical retail address if possible. Just buy your items online and pick them up in your nearby retail outlet at no extra charge.

Though you must make the trip to collect them from the location, doing this can be a budget-friendly option to parting with an extra $10-$20 for the convenience of having the items delivered to your doorstep.

4. Get cash back on purchases

Of course, there is the possibility of getting your cash back without doing a lot, just let the technology do its work.

Start using applications such as honey or Rakuten to begin receiving cash back on the purchases you made. You can be able to receive up to 18% cash back on the things you buy, from hotel accommodation to clothes and accessories to electronics.

As a new user, you are eligible for a 10% discount as well as other bonuses tailored for your family and friends. If you are already in the shopping mood, this is the easiest decision you can make to save a few bucks in the festive seasons.

5. Use price protection

While you could once trust your money cards to provide price protection, this is an advantage that most of credit card companies are starting to do away with.

However, there is nothing to worry about. Like almost everything these days, there is an app that offers credit protection in case you want one.

You can check out one like Earny price protection, which will handle all the price protection for you. Just download the app and link it with the email address you are using to purchase.

Earny will scan the receipts used to purchase and file a complaint on your behalf if the cost of the items purchased drops with the participating retailer.

6. Look for coupons

When you hear the word coupon, you might think of staying on your workstation for hours, carefully choosing sales ads, and tagging every coupon on each page.

Fortunately, with platforms such as Groupalia and Groupon, couponing should not be that time-consuming and tiresome.

With these e-commerce marketplaces, you can find good deals from your local retailers ranging from entertainment, dining, spa services and many more. This is an incredible way to save a few bucks and discover very many fun local attractions you can check out.

7. Don does not buy immediately

Like other holiday shoppers, you are likely to have a lot of things on your to-do list. You may want to complete the online buying process as fast as possible to allow you can move to the next important piece on your to-do list.

Not that fast.

With most digital retailers, there is a likelihood that you will be offered extra discounts if you turn off your browser before finishing a purchase. Close your browser before buying and wait for a day or two to see whether you receive an email with an offer to complete checking out.

Implementing this agile trick could help you save some extra bucks on your holiday shopping budget. Remember this is the period that most retailers are in the rush of clearing their stock and they could be in a better position of offering freebies to new business clients.

8. Ask for price matching

No matter where you are doing your shopping, be it online or at a physical store try asking them if they are able to match the prices of similar items from other stores.

Most businesses like getting your business from their competitors, therefore, they will never feel hurt if you ask them to do so.

However, understand that not all businesses have a price match policy, so do not get discouraged if the business turns down your request. It is also better to ask for a price match if you have seen a different price for the same item elsewhere.

Take a screenshot or a copy of the different sales leaflets ready to support your request when you are asking for the price match

The festive seasons are meant for fun and being together with your family and friends. The least you may wish for is the stress of bank fees and overdrafts. So, when you are out there on your shopping errands you can avoid these stresses by selecting a bank account with no hidden fees.

Additionally, apart from the above-mentioned holiday shopping hacks, you can also implement some strategies such as:

• Going for previous models of items like electronics, cookware, and many other kinds of stuff that do not get spoilt easily: retailers always offer great deals on the previous models to create space for the next stock.
• Consider offering homemade presents: if you must offer gifts to friends and family during this season, give out something with a personal touch. This way you will make your gift more special while also saving a little cash on your holiday budget.
• Wait for post-clearance sale: during the periods after the holidays, some desperate businesses will start to move big-ticket products that did not sell during the holiday.

If you don’t have a particular brand you are thinking of, you can grab this opportunity and get great bargains for yourself.

Conclusion

Since this year’s holiday may be different given that the whole world is undergoing the Coronavirus pandemic. Due to this, it is projected that up to 60% of shoppers are going to reduce their in-store shopping due to health concerns.

This has pushed people into doing their shopping online. However, not all people are conversant with this new trend. To be on the safe side, it is advisable you master various online holiday shopping hacks and be conversant with the various online communication support.

Ensure you exploit opportunities that come with festive seasons like cash backs on purchases and holiday discounts to help you cut on your budget. Check out for coupons and ask for price matches as a means of having a fair price on your favorite items

We hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday and a similar post-holiday as you review your savings.