There are so many deals available during and after the holiday season. It’s tough to feel secure in knowing what truly is the best price. Scanning retailer websites can be time-consuming enough, but walking from shop to shop in a mall or shopping center can a real chore.
Mobile shopping
The numbers are in from Black Friday. Of course, online sales were up from last year, but what may be surprising are the mobile numbers. In a Mobile Marketing story, Ben Frederick wrote that mobile app revenue was way up compared with other Fridays in November and Cyber Monday.
One way to take advantage of the mobile trend in a way that can save time and money while shopping at brick-and-mortar stores is to use the DailySale website to find the deal of the day per category or to use the search bar. It’s a great way to tell whether a local sale is a truly good deal or just hype. Most of the items on the website include free shipping. Sales tax on orders depends on the buyer’s state.
Timing is effective
The end of the year is a good time to save on certain categories consumers might not need immediately. Tools usually are marked down quite a bit in December, according to Jason Notte of The Street. That roadside emergency kit might come in handy, someday. It sure beats waiting on AAA.
Golf clubs are another bargain at the end of the year. Why pay more for the 2016 model, when the 2015 model is just fine? Other December deals to look for include gift cards, cookware and Christmas decorations, says Jon Lal of U.S. News and World Report.
Buying these items well in advance of the next season or birthdays can be like visiting a theme park on the first day of school. Prices will be low, and no one will be around to get in the way. This brings up another advantage to shopping online.
Mobile shoppers can enjoy the best of both worlds. They can browse the aisles of the brick-and-mortar stores, photograph the items they want with their cellphone, walk past the checkout lines and order the items they want potentially at a lower price from the comfort of their car in the mall parking lot. It will feel like shopping on an isle away from the masses.
Make a plan
Deal of the day websites can help knock off email spam and endless Googling. One way to reduce search time frustration is to make a list of the items needed including the name brand. Hopefully, the list is not too long.
Consumers can plug in the search terms from their list at the same time every day or take a more relaxed approach and check every few days. This method maximizes the chances of finding a deal and reduces time spent searching.
Of course, this technique is most practical for relatively big-ticket items such as laptops and cellphones. A proactive approach should produce faster and more valuable results than sampling putting items into a wish list on a retailer’s website or signing up for individual retailer email alerts. Who cares whether the price of a Nikon camera dropped $1?
With deal of the day websites, shoppers can get the thrill of finding a great price without the agony of trudging through the mall or hunting for shipping policies on retailer websites. Savvy shoppers won’t have to enter their personal and financial information into a slew of retailer websites just see whether a promo code works. The best Daily Deal websites have their codes prominently displayed.
Of course, while checking out specific items on the deal websites, consumers might run across impulse buys, but at least they’ll be buying them at a discount therefore reducing the regret buyers sometimes face, according to Science Of Us.
