(Updated 12/3/2017)
The holidays are a time of excitement, the smell of turkey in the air, the awaiting of the first snowfall, and — of course — gifts! Beginning mostly with Thanksgiving weekend, millions of Americans will flock to retailers in stores and online. With that much demand, stores will try to outdo each other and offer the biggest discounts to bring in new customers.
So where are your best bets to save this holiday season?
- Black Friday. Black Friday is traditionally the first major Christmas shopping day of the holiday season and so stores open their doors in the early hours of the morning for deal seekers. To get ready for Black Friday, begin to search online and collect sales flyers from your local newspaper. Many retailers will purposely “leak†their Black Friday deals so shoppers can get ready to buy. This shopping day has started earlier and earlier every year as well; you can even get many of these deals on Thanksgiving day, and sometimes throughout the weekend.
- Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is traditionally the kickoff of the major online holiday shopping season where you can expect to find many online stores offering huge discounts and coupons for their products. As Thanksgiving feasters head back to work the Monday after Thanksgiving, they inadvertently head online to shop. You can find a lot of the best online coupons of the year on this day as stores try to entice shoppers to head online. Many of these discounts will available at coupon websites.
- Green Monday. Green Monday is generally regarded as the busiest online shopping day of the year (the second Monday in December) as shoppers head online to finalize their Christmas shopping lists. Although not as well-known as Cyber Monday, it has been growing every year as more online stores offer huge discounts and coupons to be used on this day.
- Free Shipping Day. Free Shipping Day is another holiday event held dear by many online stores at the end of the Christmas shopping season to offer shoppers a last chance to get free shipping for guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery. Last year, more than 2,000 stores participated. Make sure to mark your calendar for Friday, December 15th which is Free Shipping Day for 2017.
- After Christmas. If the friends and family you are shopping for this holiday season are not itching for a specific gift, you may consider giving them a gift card. Many stores and online retailers have huge discounts and deals after Christmas as they try to get rid of unsold merchandise. With a gift card, they can get a lot more bang for the buck as they shop after the holiday rush.
As you can see, it’s really easy to save during the holiday season as long as you know where and when to look. These are good starting points for anyone trying to save. Try to be flexible and see what deals are being offered and if they can fit someone on your shopping list. If you need something specific during the holidays, or throughout the year, the best savings rule of thumb is to find a coupon first. Good luck and happy hunting!
