As this century began nobody ever knew what Cyber Mondays
actually was. As time passed on people started confusing it with Black Friday
as it is much older and both come right after Thanksgiving. But as the world is
moving towards online shopping, people now know what Cyber Monday actually is.
In fact, 2020 was the biggest shopping year in history which unexpectedly came
on Cyber Monday. But in spite of the popularity, Cyber Monday has gained there
are still a lot of chances of getting scammed. As many websites portray
themselves to be legit but are actually fake and their main motive is to gain
access to the sensitive details of your bank account. Besides this, there is a
list of factors you should consider before you start shopping. This is why
today we have brought you an article to give you a step-by-step guideline you
should follow before going online this Monday.
LOOK AT PAST YEAR`S SALE
Now, there isn’t a specific trend for discounts and deals
stores offer every year but retailers more often offer discounts heavily on
electronics, clothing, and small appliances. However, many stores start
advertising their sales and deals in advance through brochures. Therefore, it
is wise to look at online brochures to get yourself prepared for shopping
online.
BOOKMARK THE MOST APPEALING WEBSITES
By appealing websites, it doesn’t mean you start bookmarking
attractive-looking websites but consider bookmarking websites that offer
compelling deals and discounts instead. And to remember the marked stores
create a separate folder for them according to their type. For instance, if you
have found a store that heavily relies on computers and mobile phones, you can
create a separate folder named as “computers and mobiles”. This will save you
time while shopping online.
FOLLOW THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Many well-known stores have moved their focus to Instagram,
Facebook, and other social media applications as people spend most of their
time on social media rather than surfing online. And that’s the reason they
offer special discounts to people who like and share their posts with their
friends on social media. I would also suggest you follow your favorite
stores on Instagram and by sharing and liking their posts you can avail of exciting deals!
GO OLD SCHOOL WITH RETAIL NEWSLETTERS
Although this is an old-fashioned strategy but is more useful than following your favorite stores on social media. All you have to do is sign up for retail newsletters after which they will ask you for your email to provide you with the latest updates. However, with all the perks associated with it, there are some cons related to it too. First of all, receiving emails constantly could be quite annoying and might fill your storage with useless updates. Secondly, important deals could get sidelined under the burden of useless ones.
MAKE YOUR GIFT LIST IN ADVANCE
Rather than following updates manually, you can install an
application that could provide you with filtered updates and could save your
favorite items you desire to purchase in the future. However, most of the
applications demand premium services for which they ask for a very little
amount. But if you don’t prefer using an application, you shall make your own
list which would make it easier for you to deal with in the end.
GRAB AS MANY GIFT CARDS AS YOU CAN
Don’t wait for the shopping season to start, just grab as
many discount cards as you can. These cards can allow you to have over 50% off
on any item of your choosing. Apart from this, consider choosing gift cards
that could be used with other cards to get a better deal as well.
SET YOUR BUDGET
This point should have been discussed earlier but
nonetheless, setting a budget should be your main priority before you start
shopping. All the searches could become pointless if you haven’t kept your eye
on the price tags and discounts offered on them. Hence, select products
according to your pocket.
PRICE COMPARISON TOOL
Before you pull the trigger and start shopping, compare prices
of the product being sold by stores after which select the best possible deal
out there. Instead of comparing prices manually and wasting your time download
a price comparison tool from your play store. Besides this, you can look at
websites and review articles which would help in removing your doubts.
AVOID SITES WITH POOR SECURITY PRACTICES
As I mentioned earlier hackers get really thirsty during
shopping events as they provide various ways for them to gain access to your
private information. Thus, it is recommended to investigate a website
thoroughly and check if the site follows SSL protocols. You can do so by
looking at their payment and security methods or by reading their customer
reviews online.
TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE
Now, this might seem unusual but shopping at inconvenient times could provide you with the best possible deals. So, in order to get huge discounts, you should either stay up late or get up early! Some retailers offer hourly discounts as well which could often come late at night so to avail yourself of this opportunity grab yourself some coffee because it could be a long dark night for you.
