10 Black Friday Shopping Tips
Black Friday will be here before you know it. Some people love Black Friday shopping, while others hate it. I’m not a fan of it at all. Over the past few years, the crowds have gotten worse. People are disrespectful and rowdy at times. If you enjoy Black Friday shopping, then this article is for you. We will review several tips to ensure your Black Friday shopping isn’t too crazy.
Black Friday Shopping Tips
1. Shop Online
Shopping online is a great way to avoid the Black Friday lines. You can do that at any time of the day. You can shop online during your lunch break (if you have to work) or in the comfort of your home. You should sign up with your favorite stores to get email alerts, but more on that later. Some of them will have sales before Black Friday. You want to take advantage of the deals.
You’re probably already getting emails from your favorite stores or businesses. I know I’ve seen some from Walmart and Amazon already.
Since you’re shopping online, make sure that you are using Rakuten. The site allows you to get cashback for many of your online purchases. Sign up for Rakuten through my link and get $10 cashback!
Shopping online can also be quite competitive, but here are a few secret tips to ease your online shopping experience during black Friday.
2. Check-out tip
During the process of online shopping during the week of Black Friday all through to cyber Monday, you may encounter some situations whereby the prices or shipping fees are higher than what you planned. In that case, use the live chat feature that numerous online retailers have and respectfully ask the operator for a coupon for free shipping or a percentage discount off the goods you purchased. You will be surprised by the number of times they answer yes!
3. Don’t shop at peak times
Another good Black Friday shopping tip is to not shop during peak times. I suggest getting to the stores early. That is the only way to beat standing in line for long hours. The earlier, the better. A lot of people eat and drink very well on Thanksgiving. They will be too tired to get up at dawn to go shopping. You may get lucky and get some shopping done before the crowd arrives.
Even though there are several black Friday shopping deals online, there are some bargains you can only access in stores. That usually implies waiting in long lines and trying to dodge crowds. By shopping early in the morning, you can do that.
4. Shop at stores that aren’t as popular
While everyone is at the mall or the large department stores, you could shop at less popular stores. I’ll be the first to tell you that stores such as Walmart, Target, & Apple will be busy. They are name brands that people are familiar with. Check out some mom-and-pop stores. They shouldn’t be as crowded. Also, you can get into some outlet stores more quickly.
Besides getting into the outlets quicker, many unpopular stores will love to attract more customers. And in this quest, they are likely to present even more mouth-watering doorbuster deals than the popular ones.
5. Early Preparation
One of the best ways to avoid waiting in those long lines on black Friday is to start early. It’s November, which means these black Friday sales have already begun, so you don’t have to wait till the weekend of Black Friday to start shopping for discounts. This is what many people do, and they get the worst products after waiting for hours in line. Many retailers offer great deals on items in several categories; some of these items have a return policy you can take advantage of.
Some shops, for example, offer price drop adjustments for anything you purchase on their shops on certain days throughout the entire year, not just black Friday weekend. If you buy a product during a specific period and notice the price drops, later on, you could speak to customer care and send them your receipts for a refund. These are some of the advantages you could get as an early shopper. Starting early also has other benefits, like it allows you to have a wide range of options, where you can have enough time to make some choices and change your mind about them.
6. Use Apps
If you want to skip the Black Friday lines, you have to use apps. Apps are a new marketplace for online shopping, and they are great ways to get products on an average day and even better during black Friday. You can use apps to look at available deals to make the best choice for you. You can also use these apps to track the prices of these items and purchase them at just the right price. It’s also pretty easy that you don’t have to check out these deals, retailer by retailer. You could quickly look at the Consumer Reports website, where you can get a list of different products and their current prices at various shops, and then make your comparison.
Some great apps include Walmart, Rakuten, ShopSavvy, and Shopular. They are pretty easy to use too. Some of them allow users to scan bar codes to get the prices and discounts of various products. They also allow you to get black Friday coupons easily. You could also use other apps like Amazon apps to check for deals.
7. Use Social Media
Social media is excellent for getting the best out of black Friday sales and avoiding the tiresome lines. A lot of retailers these days make use of social media to advertise their products. With the launch of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, social media advertising has risen exponentially. Many retailers use their pages to post products and get their followers enticing deals. You have to keep up with their posts and be engaging.
Some retailers do giveaways on their platforms so those who comment, like, or follow them can get good black Friday coupons and discounts. You could also use the platform to get information from fellow users on the best deals. You can get this information in a comment in the comment section of popular brands or by following popular brand influencers who review products and post them on their page. These influencers tend to give discount codes to their followers to enable them to get some specific products at a good rate. This way, you don’t have to go to the shop and wait in line to get the best black Friday deals.
8. Leave Your Shopping Cart
In the week preceding Black Friday, fill your virtual cart with goods, then log out of your account. This action prompts them to send an automated coupon to your inbox, asking you to come back and finalize the purchase by using the coupon. Of course, it is a sneaky move, but it is a useful trick.
9. Favorite Brands Newsletter
This is one way to keep up with what you want for black Friday. You have to keep up with your favorite brands. Aside from following them on social media, you could also subscribe to their newsletters. This ensures that you always receive their emails when they put one out, ensuring you get the best deal as early as possible. This way, you can watch out for special discounts and coupons that others won’t get, so it’ll be easy and cheap to get the products without waiting in line. You can even share these deals with friends and family.
10. Make Use of Walmart and Target
Walmart and Target are two stores that offer great discounts and price matches to early birds. You get great deals at these stores. For example, Target offers price matches for goods bought at its offline and online stores from October 6th to December 24th. If you purchase your goods at this time and notice later that the prices have changed, you can get a refund at target. You have to show them your receipts.
Those are just a few Black Friday shopping tips. I know some people get a rush from shopping on that day. I am not one of them. People are crazy, and I don’t want to get trampled. If you do shop on Black Friday, make sure that you keep these tips in mind. Have a plan. Make sure you know when and where you want to shop. The worst thing you can do on Black Friday is to backtrack or get stuck in traffic when you don’t have to.
Check out the gift guides below if you need help figuring out what to get someone.
Jason Butler is the owner of My Money Chronicles, a website where he discusses personal finance, side hustles, travel, and more. Jason is from Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Savannah State University with his BA in Marketing. Jason has been featured in Forbes, Discover, and Investopedia.
