Holiday shopping season is upon us, but nearly half of consumers will miss out on the best deals of the season, according to a recent report from personal-finance website NerdWallet. Nearly half (47%) of people do the majority of their shopping between Nov. 28 and Dec. 23, which means many miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
More Americans are finding themselves in debt as a result of holiday gift purchases, that study found. More than half (56%) of those who shopped during the 2016 holiday season incurred credit card debt versus 48% in the previous year.So what if you’re only starting your holiday shopping now? If you’re shopping online, there are novel ways to save money.
Consumer confidence is at a 17-year high, but with wages barely keeping up with inflation, people are still seeking out deals, according to the latest data from The Conference Board, a business-research group, released this month. “The overwhelming majority of consumers say they will be looking for bargains and incentives,” Lynn Franco, director of economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said.
Here are ways to make sure you’re getting the lowest possible price on gifts:
Find a coupon code wherever you shop
Honey is one of the easiest ways to save money automatically when shopping online: Download the plug in for Chrome or Firefox and Honey will automatically apply coupon codes for each store at checkout. You can also use it without the plug in by going to JoinHoney.com. The company doesn’t offer a mobile app. It crowd sources its coupon codes from its community and offers exclusive deals from retail partners to add a total of one million codes a month.
It also follows products in much the same way Kayak can follow airline prices. Through Honey’s Droplist feature, currently specific to Amazon, users can also track items to see when their prices drop. Click “add to Droplist” on Amazon to follow the prices for 30, 60, or 90 days and get an email alert when it gets cheaper. Users can also automatically sync the Droplist to their Amazon cart to get alerts on price changes for every product they add.
Generally, consumers should be wary of browser plug-ins because they collect extensive amounts of data. But Honey is free to use and the company says it makes money from partnerships with companies that accept coupons used through the service, not from selling user data.
Use the right credit card for the right purchases
Birch, a rewards analysis app, gives shoppers a personalized report on which credit cards they should use and where to reap the most of their rewards benefits. It aims to help the 31% of cardholders who, by the company’s calculations, never redeem points. Its research has also found 20% of rewards go unused and each year consumers leave $3.1 billion in rewards on the table.
Birch is free to use and makes its money by getting paid off some of its card recommendations. (It says it doesn’t prioritize placement of any cards.) It is best for people with multiple credit cards trying to make the smartest purchases possible. For people who don’t have a credit card, Birch can analyze purchases to find which card is best for them to use. So it isn’t the best app for people who are prone to overspend on multiple credit cards.
A simple way to get cash back on your purchases
Ebates is a service that offers coupons and cashback benefits from more than 2,000 online retailers, including Amazon AMZN, +0.60% Macy’s M, +0.35% Overstock OSTK, +22.02% and Wal-Mart WMT, +0.39% Download its app on Google Play or iTunes to browse deals on mobile, but for an even more seamless money-saving approach, use the browser plug-in on Chrome or Firefox.
It promotes deals, so when you’re tightening your purse strings, it may not be the best app to have sending you push notifications, especially given that more Americans are racking up credit-card debt. Through the plug-in, eBates will apply its cashback benefits as you check out of any store that it supports on its site, which range from 1% to 15% cashback. Ebates is free to use and through its refer-a-friend program gives $25 for each person referred.
Get cash back for mobile and in-store purchases
The Ibotta mobile app gives users cash back rewards on specific products and brands such as WMT, +0.39% Trader Joe’s, Target TGT, +0.64% Walgreens WBA, +0.46% Gap GPS, +0.33% and Amazon AMZN, +0.60% both before — and after — shopping. Ibotta doesn’t involve coupons or codes. Instead, the app allows users to take a photo of their receipt. Listings include $6 cash back on a $14 box of allergy medicine Flonase and $1 on Organic Valley Eggs.
Ibotta is free to use and makes its money on small commissions received when users buy certain products. And consumers are also tempted to keep shopping: The app receives payments from advertisers when users watch sponsored videos and answer polls to unlock rewards. It is available for download on iTunes and Google Play. Cash earned through the app can be sent to users via PayPal or Venmo.
Earn points for shopping at your favorite stores
Rewards points aren’t limited to credit cards. The free service Drop, which started in Canada and recently launched in the U.S., lets users rack up cash rewards for shopping at brands including Starbucks SBUX, +0.78% , Zara, Trader Joe’s, Sephora, and Instacart. It syncs with both credit and debit cards and analyzes purchases to get personalized deals at brands you shop at the most frequently.
A note of caution: It also pings consumers and encourages them to shop at these stores. The app claims to help users double and sometimes triple up on points, with cash-back rewards, store-specific loyalty points, and Drop awards. Drop is free to use and makes its money by charging its business partners to advertise their deals and selling anonymized data on shopper insights to brands. It is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.
Automatically reclaim money from price adjustments
Many credit cards have 90-day price protection, which refunds consumers the difference if a price drops within three months of buying it. Earny automates that process, emailing customer service on your behalf when items go on sale during black Friday. Earny is a free service makes its money by taking 25% of the reimbursement when it successfully gets customers a refund. It works by plugging into your inbox and is compatible with Gmail, Microsoft, and Yahoo.