The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s time to start hunting for the best shopping deals.
A recent survey by Shopkick finds that three-fourths of consumers say that sales and promotions will influence them the most when it comes to beginning their holiday shopping this year, likely due to high inflation and the threat of recession.
But while deals are top of mind, how can consumers resist getting fooled by marketing tactics that retailers use to get shoppers in the door?
Not only is inflation making everything more expensive, but e-commerce has completely reshaped the shopping experience. Many of the gold standards for deal hunting don’t apply anymore, so here’s what you need to remember.
4 Ways to Check Your Black Friday Deal is Really a Deal
These days, there are so many different shopping “holidays”—including Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday—it’s hard to figure out which one offers you the best deals.
These four tips will help you know if you’re getting a good price on the items on your shopping list.
1. Look Up the MSRP
Before you start digging through sales ads, write out a list of the products you want and start researching their MSRP.
The MSRP, or manufacturer’s suggested retail price, is how much a company recommends its product should be sold for. MSRPs consider a variety of factors, such as manufacturing, production and sales costs. By creating MSRPs, manufacturers can keep the price of their products generally level across the stores that sell them.
Just as the name indicates, MSRP is a suggestion—so it’s not what you may see an item listed for at a big-box store. Retailers can slash prices below MSRP to encourage spending, or increase prices above MSRP if a product is in high demand.
To find the MSRP, head to the website for the brand of the product you’re thinking about buying. If the brand sells its own products, the original price is the MSRP. For example, on the Dyson website, the Dyson V8 Absolute vacuum, at the time of writing, is on sale for $349.99; its original price of $499.99 would be the MSRP.
Another advantage to checking the MSRP is that manufacturers may be offering a similar version of a product you’re looking at elsewhere, but at a lower cost. For example, on the Walmart website, a similar Dyson V8 vacuum cleaner to the one on sale at Dyson for $349.99 was $499—and the Dyson website offer comes with bonus cleaning attachments.
Shopping at low-price stores doesn’t always mean you’ll end up getting the lowest price.
2. Check Out the Price History
The internet may make shopping easier, but it’s also allowed for real-time dynamic pricing. That means products are constantly fluctuating in price, even changing several times per day. That constant shift of prices can leave consumers wondering if they’re getting the best price now, or if they should wait a few hours—or just two minutes—before clicking the purchase button.
Amazon’s dynamic pricing strategy is run by a complex algorithm. The strategy considers a variety of factors, including demand, stock, how often you’ve viewed the product and even the time and day you may be viewing it.
Reviewing a product’s price history is one of the easiest ways to see if you’re scoring a deal, or if you should hold off.
Let’s take the example of a Ninja air fryer. According to Amazon price-tracker tool CamelCamelCamel, its price on Amazon has dipped below $90 multiple times over the past 12 months—not just around the holidays. Buying before—or even after—the holidays could help you score the exact same deal, so there’s less pressure to buy during a sale period.
Amazon price history on CamelCamelCamel shows that now would be a great time to purchase a Ninja AF101 air fryer, given it’s at its lowest price in the last year. Source: CamelCamelCamel
Popular price tracking apps include Paypal Honey, ShopSavvy and PriceBlink. These apps, which are all free, allow users to set up price alerts for specific products. ShopSavvy also includes price history data.
3. Be Flexible When It Comes to Purchasing Different Models
If you’re in the market for a big-ticket item this holiday season like a TV or computer, you’ll want to make sure the model you want matches the model that’s on sale. Or to get the biggest bang for your buck, you may want to be flexible about what model you purchase.
Many of the big Black Friday doorbuster deals on TVs and other electronics are often for what’s referred to as derivative models. Brands often create these models specifically for holiday sales so they can be sold at an enticing low price—but they’re usually scaled-back versions of what’s popular.
Buying a derivative model doesn’t mean you’ll be getting a subpar product. According to Consumer Reports, derivative TVs from major brands perform equally as well as their parent models, despite being hundreds of dollars cheaper. Brands usually pair up with a specific store to sell this model; if you see a TV advertised as “only available” at one specific store, it’s likely a derivative model.
Outlet stores follow a similar strategy. While consumers may head to a luxury brand outlet hoping to score a new handbag or pair of shoes for a low price, it’s important to keep in mind that you’re not going to get the latest model—and the price tags could deceive you on how much you’ll be “saving.”
“Oftentimes those items are made specifically for the outlet and were never sold or offered at the “compare at” price you see on the tag,” says Kristen Gall, retail and shopping expert at Rakuten. “If you like the quality for the price, outlets can be a great deal, but you need to not take the outlet store ‘regular price’ literally.”
4. Consider Shipping and Return Costs
Even if you’re getting a good deal on the price of an item, there are two factors you still need to consider: Shipping and return costs.
Not only did the pandemic severely disrupt supply chains, but it also bumped up the cost of each of its logistical links. Increases in shipping, transportation, fuel and wage costs are taking a bite out of retailer profits. According to Optoro, a reverse logistics technology company, in 2021 processing the return of a $50 item cost retailers $33 on average. In 2020, it cost them an average of $29.50.
Retailers are passing those costs on to consumers. More e-commerce brands are starting to raise their order minimums for free shipping, and some are even charging customers for online returns made via mail. JCPenney, for example, now charges a flat $8 shipping fee for online returns by mail.
Before getting click-happy with online orders, read the fine print on how much it’ll cost for delivery—and whether or not you’ll get charged for a return. Even if you’re saving money on the purchase of the product, these less-obvious costs will reduce how much you’ll actually save.
Read more: Why Free Returns Could Soon Be A Thing Of The Past
Is Now the Time to Start Holiday Shopping?
If you’re eager to get started holiday shopping hoping to save as much money as possible, you might consider getting started now—but it depends what you want to buy.
Gall advises consumers to purchase the items that are high on their priority list as soon as they find them, stating there is a chance they might sell out early, including electronics. If you’re looking to start saving now, popular big-box stores are slashing prices of large stock surpluses from the summer to make room for holiday inventory.
Others say there could be value in waiting until the last minute possible to do your holiday shopping. If you’re a casual shopper who doesn’t have a specific wish list, you could hold off on shopping until the last minute to secure the deepest discounts.
“It might be the case this year that those who are willing to wait will secure the lowest prices,” says Ross Steinman, consumer psychologist and psychology professor at Widener University. “Retailers staring down time-limited inventory surpluses will do whatever they can to liquidate before the holiday season has expired.”
Before hitting the stores and doing your research to find deals, arming yourself with a shopping strategy will also aid in maximizing your savings. Consumers often charge their holiday shopping to credit cards, causing their balances to swell during the holiday season. Putting cash aside now can help curb overspending.
