Black Friday, the biggest shopping event of the year, will take place on November 27
How to Prepare for Black Friday. Source: shutterstock.com
Many shoppers all around the world wait for this momentous day every year. As you might have guessed, this is about Black Friday. We’ve come up with some useful tips, which might help you to become a real Black Friday sensei (or you may like to call it guru).
1. Draw up a budget
First and foremost, you should determine how much money you can spend. Make up a list of things you wish to buy, such as gifts, utensils, items that you’ve been dreaming about for a long time (hence, you’ll probably buy them), etc. The next step is to estimate your overall expenditure and define the maximum spending limit.
2. Plan your shopping trip
Well, if you’ve made up your shopping list, it is definitely the time to make up a store priority list. This means you must choose which shops you will visit first. It might save you a lot of time and keep you from making unplanned impulse purchases.
You must choose which shops you will visit first. Source: shutterstock.com
3. Be ready to waste some time in queues
You could get up very early in the morning with dreams of avoiding a long waiting time in queues, or you could wait a while and arrive at the shops a little later, neither option will save you from long queues. Check your favorite playlist (or make up a new one), buy a new book, or download a new game on your smartphone. That will definitely help you to pass away the time.
4. Stay away from impulse purchases, follow your budget, and use cash
Since customers can save big bucks on Black Friday, they often feel like buying a few extra things. That seems to be quite logical. You saved some money, why shouldn’t you buy a couple of items you’ve been dreaming of for a long time? Just make sure that any item on your new “impulse purchase” list is not a useless knick-knack, otherwise, you’ll simply destroy your Black Friday budget.
Follow your budget (see paragraph 1). Moreover, we recommend you to take cash and leave your bank card at home. It will make you more attentive to every purchase you make, and also instantly shows you how much money you’ve got left. After all, you can’t overspend if you have no funds left.
5. Use apps to save up more money
Now returning to the issue of long queues, you can spend some quality time with “Savings/BestDeals/BestPrice” apps while standing in line. You’ll have enough time to check and double-check prices for items of interest. With the help of such apps, customers can now watch and even match prices in real-time.
Customers can now watch and even match prices in real-time. Source: shutterstock.com
6. Use discounted gift cards
One of the simplest ways to get a great deal is to purchase things with discounted gift cards. Nowadays there are a lot of similar deals, but we can recommend Raise.com. This gift card site is considered to be a reliable one.
7. Feel free to use social networks
Maybe you’ve got many followers on Instagram, perhaps you like Twitter or just adore Facebook, that’s your business. No matter which social media you prefer, you can use it to your advantage. You can start following your favorite stores, then you should always be aware of the latest coupon deals, sale previews, Black Friday advertisements, etc.
8. Be polite and don’t be shy to talk to people standing in the line
Be polite to sales consultants. Sometimes they can be so forward and obsessive, but they just want to earn some extra holiday cash, taking into account that they work on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, while most people are shopping and having fun. You definitely can’t control the shoppers around you, but what you can do is show a good example of how well-mannered shoppers should behave.
You can chat with people around you. Source: shutterstock.com
And besides, be nice to everyone. There is no point in spending time and grating nerves by arguing with someone in a queue.
There is a much better option. You can chat with people around you. Suppose you see something interesting in the cart of the person waiting next to you. If you haven’t argued with them, you can simply ask about the item and where they found it. Moreover, if you needed to dart out somewhere, you could ask someone to “hold your spot in the line”.
9. Shop with a friend
And it is not only about having fun. It can also be helpful. You can separate to speed up the process. You must admit that it’s very convenient when you can take your time to choose the perfect gift for your nephew in the toy section, while your friend checks out and matches the Smart TV prices in the electronics section.
10. Leave the kids at home
And last but not least, leave your kids at home if you want to have an enjoyable shopping trip. Explain to them that it doesn’t mean you don’t want to spend time with them. Remind your kids about endless queues and crowds of people. Remind them about their, “I’m bored,” or, “Why can’t we just go home?” and try to explain that it’ll not work out. You can leave kids with your spouse/parents/friends and enjoy your shopping trip.
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