Black Friday, the autumn day with the biggest discounts, affordable prices, and most tempting deals is just around the corner. Is it making you excited in advance and are you looking forward to buying your stock of gifts, accessories, and routine items already?
Well, we love the spirit. But let us not fall prey to scams the risk of which increases around big shopping days like Black Friday as well. Additionally, your budget and utilizing the money economically is also a challenge.
So, let us discover the 10 smart shopping tips to get the best of black Friday sales this year.
Table of Contents:
- Part 1: What is Black Friday and When is it in 2024?
- Part 2: What can you Expect from Black Friday This Year?
- Part 3: 10 Smart Shopping Tips for Black Friday Sale 2024
Part 1: What is Black Friday and When is it in 2024?
According to the theories, black Friday is the day when shopping brands and retailers have reached their goals of selling a certain number of products and gaining a certain percentage of the profits.
So, the brands worried about their sales being considered in “red” and as they are free of this burden, they entered a period of “black”. This allows the brands to offer huge discounts and deals on their products which further boosts up the sales.
As Thanksgiving is a time when brands achieve their goals, the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving is called “Black Friday”.
This year, Black Friday is on Nov 29, 2024. Black Friday is almost 1 month ahead. Thus, it is the time that you start preparing for it.
Part 2: What can you Expect from Black Friday This Year?
Just like every year, black Friday is coming up with sales on everything you want and need throughout the year. Therefore, you can expect,
- In-person shopping stores to open early at around 6 am during Black Friday sale days
- The prices of things to fall by almost 50-80%
- Hardware items, clothes, toys, makeup, and skincare products to go on sale
- Brands offer discount codes and coupons on purchases
- Many influencers provide their own codes for additional discounts
Part 3: 10 Smart Shopping Tips for Black Friday Sale 2024
For the Black Friday sale 2024, here are the tips to follow to shop like a pro.
1. Pre-Sale Preparation for Shopping During Black Friday Sale
The preparation for black Friday must begin early so that you do not panic on D-day and miss your chance of buying good things at a low price.
Below are some tips to prepare for black Friday.
Make a Wishlist
Take a notepad and start noting down the things you need for the upcoming year. It could be,
- Clothes like coats and sweaters for winter
- Hardware items if you are interested in DIYs
- Devices like laptops, ear pods, or mobile
- Self-grooming items like Ulike Air 10 IPL hair removal handset
- Everyday utilities like detergents, soap, shampoo
- Women's and men's skincare and makeup
- Gifts for Christmas
There is no limit to the type of products you can add to your wishlist. But, it is essential to ensure that each product you add is worth the price you are going to pay.
Do Research
Do not buy random things without any reviews and end up being scammed. Rather, you should,
- Search different brands and retailers selling the products you want
- Check the reviews of the products and note what customers liked or disliked about them
- Go to YouTube and watch videos to take a clear look at the product
- Save the links of products with the best reviews
Set up your Account and Sign up to Newsletters
Several brands these days require their consumers to have an email associated with their websites. To save time and buy a hot-selling product easily, set up your account beforehand.
Furthermore, sign up for the newsletter of your favorite brands for exclusive discounts and offers.
Follow Social Media
Many brands and shopping retailers put promotions of their black Friday sales on social media. They show their products and related offers. So, be active on social media to guess which brand has the best offers and products you want.
2. Compare the Prices of Products from your Wishlist
Suppose you want a sweater. Many brands will have the same sweater. So, search multiple websites and compare their prices to get the most economical deal. An easy way to do this is by using online websites and software that use AI to compare prices.
Some examples of such software include,
- ShopSavvy
- PriceSpy
- CamelCamelCamel
- PriceGrabber
- Alertr
Also, your desired products at the price you want might be sold out when you check the website. Therefore, keep a second option in mind, just in case.
3. Get the Shopping Vouchers, Coupons, and Loyalty Programs
Although Black Friday already provides discounts, do you know that you can get additional discounts as well? To lower the prices of the products already on sale, you can,
- Subscribe to newsletters of the brands and get special discounts
- Sign up for loyalty programs for promotional offers
- Browse the internet for coupon codes
- Use loyalty rewards you grabbed throughout the year
Some online software that show coupon codes for different brands include,
- VoucherCodes
- Honey
- MyVoucherCodes
- RetailMeNot
- Rakuten
After you get a specific code, apply it on your checkout and get the same product at a cheaper price.
4. Use a Cashback Website and Credit Cards
Paying directly from online wallets has a minor risk of scams or non-return of the payment in case of any mishaps. In contrast, you can simply utilize your credit card to pay for your purchases online.
The benefits of using credit cards include,
- There are special offers on some credit cards
- Your credit card company is liable to pay you back in case of any problem with the order.
- Interest-free monthly payment options are available on credit cards
Moreover, use cashback websites to attain a portion of the amount you have paid back.
5. Shop at an Optimal Time
Shopping too early, too late, or in a hurry might cost you much more than the actual price of the items. This makes shopping carefully at the right time important during sales like that of Black Friday.
Now, the question is, which time is the right time? Well, here are tips for choosing the right time,
- Research about at which time a certain retailer is releasing the products for sell
- Set an alarm along with the product’s name to shop
- Keep in mind that most retailers display sales at 12 am
- Shop as soon as the sale goes live
6. Shop for Upcoming Events in Advance
Immediately after black Friday, there is Christmas. Yes, there are also many sales and discounts at Christmas. However, the best offers are available only on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Additionally, you have to get people you love gifts on Christmas. Therefore, do your Christmas shopping in advance to save time, money, and effort and focus on enjoying the event.
Similarly, you can buy gifts for upcoming birthdays and anniversaries.
7. Be Careful about the Scams
With great deals come big scams. Do not fall prey to such scams and regret your shopping decisions. Some examples of the scams include,
- Paying an online amount beforehand to unknown retailers
- Click on links from stores you did not order from
- Shopping from a fake website
Now, let us see the ways to avoid these scams,
- Always pre-pay to the well-known retailers
- Do not click any link on the website you have not heard of or did not sign up on
- Carefully look at the link of the website you shop from to ensure that it is the original one
- Use a credit card to shop
8. Make a Budget for Yourself Beforehand
You cannot spend all your savings in one day and then regret the whole year, right? So, make a strict budget for yourself in advance. To make a budget,
- Check your account and know how much of the savings you can spend freely
- Use online tools for making a budget
- Keep a portion of your savings on the side
- Consider future sales with intriguing deals
9. Get Gift Receipts of the Products You Buy as a Present
Imagine you are buying a gift with all your heart but it does not go well with the taste of the receiver. Now, he/she cannot either use the gift or return it because you cannot just hand over the payment slip along with the gift.
To avoid creating sadness in a happy event, ask the retailers for a gift receipt. It is like a payment slip without the amount written on it.
The receiver of the gift can get the product exchanged or refund the amount.
10. Do not Forget the Upcoming Cyber Monday
Immediately after Black Friday, there is Cyber Monday. The deals of Cyber Monday are as attractive as that of black Friday. If you spend all your money on Black Friday, you might not have anything left to shop after 2 days on Cyber Monday.
Therefore, leave room to shop more on Cyber Monday. Also, your research and budget can be used on Cyber Monday sales as well.
Conclusion
Nov 29, 2024, marks the day of Black Friday sales this year. So, you must be prepared to buy items you need and products you desire at the lowest price. It is just a month ahead and the time for preparation has begun.
We mentioned the preparation and shopping tips for Black Friday sales in this article.
