Did you miss out on scoring the best deals on Black Friday?
Don’t worry, you can still take advantage of Cyber Monday
The Black Friday craze is no stranger to anyone: this big retail sales day is a long-awaited event that determines consumers to hold off on spending only to take advantage of the discounts that the shopping holiday provides. If you’ve been excited about Black Friday but didn’t get the chance to make the most of it due to personal reasons, we understand that you may feel disappointed. But the good news is that there is still a way for you to shop for what you want. With Cyber Monday approaching, you can make a plan to ensure you will find the best offers online and get discounts on your favorite products, whether home goods, clothes, electronic gadgets, or other items you’d like to buy for your family or friends. As experienced deal hunters already know, the majority of the deals available on Cyber Monday are continuations of those on Black Friday (but there are also exclusive deals you can only take advantage of on Cyber Monday).
Preparing for this big day means knowing what you want to purchase and your available budget. Data shows that Cyber Monday will account for 12 billion in consumer spending this year, representing a 6% growth from last year. While there aren’t major differences between Black Friday and Cyber Monday in terms of deals, a few offers are unique on Cyber Monday – such as travel supplies, laptops and PCs. But, if you want to ensure your best deal hunt will be successful, make sure to check out the following practices.
Bookmark top retailers’ websites
You will likely have a hard time remembering what you want to purchase on Cyber Monday, especially if you’re planning to buy for multiple individuals. So, it is a good idea to create a folder dedicated to this sales day where you have a list of your favorite retailers’ websites. You can use phrases and words to customize the names of the bookmarks – this will remind you why they are useful. For instance, if you’re shopping on Best Buy, you can bookmark it as” electronic accessories and video games.” However, suppose you’re shopping from Walmart or another general retailer; in this case, it is enough to simply use the store’s name.
Stay up-to-date on retail promotions
There’s no better way to ensure you don’t miss out on promotions than following retailers on their online pages. This is a helpful strategy, and it will benefit you even after the holiday shopping season comes to an end. For example, retailers tend to offload their remaining stock from last year if they don’t get to sell it during sales days (but there’s no way to find that out unless you follow retailers on social media, right?). Twitter is a top platform to use to get such information on limited deals and sales, so if you don’t have an account already, it’s time to create one. Similarly, you can use Facebook and Instagram to find relevant offers.
Create a Firm Budget
There’s a golden rule you want to stick to when buying on Cyber Monday, and that is to stick to
your budget. If you have difficulty deciding what your budget for this day should look like, you can always use the available guidelines on holiday spending. Also, you should take into consideration your financial situation. The budget of an elementary school teacher won’t be the same as the budget of a surgeon earning a six-figure income. Ideally, you want to stick to the 20-30-50 rule, which suggests investing 20% of your income in yourself, allocating 50% of it to life essentials, and using the rest of 30% for fun purchases, such as holiday shopping.
Take Advantage of Price Comparison Tools
You don’t want to purchase on Cyber Monday unless you know you’re getting the best offer. To this end, you can use a price comparison app that will list the retailers providing the lowest prices on Cyber Monday. Just make sure the comparison tool is legitimate and includes features to help you save on the sales day. Another idea is to look at consumer blogs but keep in mind that these websites aren’t immediately updated on new sales, so it’s still essential to confirm with the retailer (particularly if a deal seems too good to be true).
Shop at the right time (not when it’s most convenient)
Cyber Monday sales run for around 24 hours, although they may sometimes begin earlier or last longer after the day ends. So, if you’re looking for common products, it’s unlikely that you will have to get up early or stay awake during the night to get the best possible deals. However, this isn’t true for items that run out of stock, so in this case, the earlier you shop, the better. Shopping at an inconvenient time can also allow you to find offers that are otherwise easy to miss out on. For example, some retailers run hourly Cyber Monday sales, focusing on different product categories. Depending on what kind of item you want, you may find yourself entering your credit card information at 3 in the morning on Cyber Monday – but hey, you’re doing it to get a good deal, so sleep can wait, right?
Go Incognito
Here’s a great tip for Cyber Monday: do your shopping anonymously using the incognito mode on your browser. Now, you aren’t doing this to mask your identity but to ensure you are eligible for deals (believe it or not, retailers know everything about you, and you don’t want your purchasing history to be a barrier when hunting for your favorite products). Incognito shopping also provides better data privacy and reduces the number of targeted ads that may sometimes be annoying, so using it will offer many benefits.
Keep an eye on your Bank Accounts and Credit Cards
Finally, make sure to avoid websites that don’t prioritize security and beware of potential scams. Fraudsters take advantage of the holiday shopping season to trick people into stealing their credit card information, so reduce your chances of becoming a victim by implementing the best security measures when shopping online.
Closing Thoughts
Cyber Monday provides an excellent opportunity to get the best deal on items you’ve kept on your Wishlist all year. Preparing early by employing all the above strategies will help you make the most of this day without breaking the bank or feeling overwhelmed that you may miss out on the best offers. Happy shopping!
