Secrets to maximize savings on Black Friday
Houston - Black Friday is fast approaching. If you’re planning to take advantage of deep discounts, we got advice from shopping experts to help you score the biggest deals.
Even though Black Friday sales have really been going on for a couple of months, with retailers offering discounts since early October, experts say you can still save big shopping on Black Friday.
While those door-busting days of shoppers bursting through doors at midnight, and door buster deals seem to be things of the past, analysts say you can still save big both shopping in stores and online, especially on electronics and TV's.
"I was very surprised to see some of the excellent offers on TV’s. But they’re out there, especially at Best Buy," said Julie Ramhold with DealNews.
"There are retailers that are doing decent discounts on Apple products. There is a new Nintendo Switch that’s out this year," said Kristen Gall with Rakuten.
They also expect good deals on apparel, particularly winter wear, and suggest families stock up during the sales to beat inflation.
"Because their deals are going to be so great this year, stock up on things like the next couple sizes of your kids' clothes," said Gall.
To get the deepest discounts, sign up for store emails and loyalty programs.
"They will give more aggressive discounts in email than they will on their full site," explained Gall.
And for online shopping, use a shopping extension browser, such as Rakuten, Ibotta, or Capital One Shopping.
"The beauty of sites of like Rakuten, it's not an either-or. You can use a coupon code, you can use an email discount, you can get cash back on top of those deals," said Gall.
"If you‘re going to be doing a lot of shopping on Amazon, have the app CamelCamelCamel handy," suggests Ramhold. "It’s a good way to check the price history to see if what you’re choosing is at the lowest price or if it’s gone lower before."
If you see a lower price for something you just bought within a week or so, you can ask the retailer for a price match. Many will honor the lower price.