We are just days away from Black Friday, but there are some unique challenges to finding the best deals this year.
Some bigger retailers kicked off their holiday sales weeks earlier than normal. This leads to consumers making the hard decision if they should buy early or wait until Black Friday to get the most for their money.
Elliot Weiler from Consumer Reports recommends doing your homework before heading out to the stores. Know what products are at the top of your list and look for what stores have the best price. He also recommends, if you are able to, to be flexible. With supply chain issues, the exact product you want might not be available, or it could come with a higher price tag if there is a shortage.
“The best advice is if you have your heart set on something specific and you see it, buy it. If you can be flexible on certain items, do that and then you can probably take advantage of those Black Friday sales because those are going to be on the products in the greatest supply,” said Weiler.
Weiler also said to not stress out when shopping. Most stores offer a price match guarantee. If you see the product you bought or a cheaper price in the next couple of weeks, the store you bought it from will likely honor that.
If you are heading out to the stores this year, there are a couple of apps you want to download on your phone. BuyVia, Shopular, and Shopsavvy are examples of apps that allow you to scan a bar code and then the app searches nearby retailers for the best price.
Consumer Reports said televisions is where you want to focus your shopping on this year.
“TV’s are really the way to go. We are seeing those deep discounts on those larger sets...so we are doing 50, 55, 65, even 75 inches and you will see some sales on those. But what I think we have sort of narrowed in on is the 60 to 65 inch range that seems to be the sweet spot for some of the deepest discounts,” said Weiler.