Black Friday usually comes with a lot of hype and build-up despite its mildly depressing history. If you don’t take the right approach and prepare, you can make some rookie mistakes and end up being exploited by retailers rather than the other way around. Luckily, we already have an idea of what to expect this Black Friday. If you want to be a more savvy shopper, here are some actionable steps you can take to make sure you come out on top this Nov. 24.
First things first: Have a budget
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It’s easy to get carried away with what seems like great deals that you “can’t afford to miss.” But buying blindly and letting your emotions take the wheel usually leads to regret and a hefty credit card balance down the road. Come with a plan. How much can you realistically afford to spend on Black Friday? Having one can make you spend more mindfully and avoid impulse-buying. If you don’t know where or how to start, there are budgeting apps tailored to your financial goals that can make it easier to get started.
Know what you need/want
Apart from knowing how much to spend, knowing what you actually need or want will keep you focused and avoid buying things you don’t really need. Make a list of items you need or want. They might not all be going on sale, but if they do, you’ll be ready and feel good about it.
Use the tools available to you
There are many apps to help you shop smartly. One of my favorites is Honey. You can keep a list of items you’re interested in buying this Black Friday by adding them to Honey’s droplist, and it comes with a couple of benefits. First, it’ll keep the items you want to keep tabs on organized and easily accessible. Second, it’ll track the prices of those products and alert you when they go on sale at any major retailer. You can see how much those prices cost leading up to the sale to see if they are, in fact, good deals or a trick from retailers to take advantage of you, and even compare them with other major retailers to see who has the best deal. You can see how to set up your droplist here. We’ll also keep you updated with the best vetted Black Friday deals once they start.
Shop online and early
Black Friday sales will inevitably start early, as they do every year. Best Buy set the tone this year by being the first to reveal its plan, starting its sales on Oct. 27. Shopping early means you’ll secure many on-demand products that will likely sell fast, and as the Mashable shopping team warns, products that sell out ahead of time aren’t always restocked for the actual event. Your best bet is to buy them early if they are a popular item that is already well-discounted (Honey’s price history will show you how good of a discount it is).
Apart from avoiding the masses and possibly getting trampled, most retailers are finding that most shopping during Black Friday week is done online, according to the National Retail Federation. As such, many retailers are making their best deals available online as well, making it more of a hybrid event, and most major retailers offer free shipping with their loyalty programs anyway.