Every year I aim to complete my Christmas shopping in November so that I can have December without rushing around. Inevitably I do end up with some rushing as I have a child who was born on Christmas Eve – this brings with it lots of planning, organising and worries about ‘did we get her a birthday card?’ – things like that are very easily missed in all the chaos! So for my sanity, I like to have as much done for Christmas as possible – nice and early, so I have less panic moments before the festive season.
This year I’m very much looking forward to Christmas as I feel well organised. I started thinking about what to buy for family a couple of months ago, which allows me the time to see who is selling the products I want to buy at the best possible price, so I can get it after doing my research. A few items I want to buy are showing at quite high prices and this is why I’m eagerly anticipating Black Friday! It’s a gamble to hope that what I want to buy will come down in price – maybe it won’t, but the last thing I want is to buy too early then see my gift set reduce in price on Black Friday.
I suspect that other savvy shoppers are the same – last year online appliance retailer AO saw the busiest Black Friday ever as shown by their Infographic! Plus they have shared some online security tips to help shoppers.
Retailers in general are finding higher sales on Black Friday with more of us spending from our mobile phones than ever before. I know I like to do my research on my mobile but I tend to purchase when at my desk from my computer – it is easier as my password manager kicks in on the computer to help load up all those passwords I couldn’t remember otherwise!
I have done a bit of online shopping this year but I have also been in the High Street stores looking for bargains too. The key to online shopping I think is to buy early as you don’t want your order to be out of stock as we creep towards Christmas – plus you have to have things delivered too and what if there are delays in the delivery? However you shop, it’s wise to get organised for Black Friday to bag a bargain – this year Black Friday is on the 24th November – just two weeks away!
Happy shopping and I hope that you get everything you want to – at the best price. Do you plan your Black Friday bargains like me? Let me know in the comments!
This blog post is part of a series showing how we incorporate technology into our family life. In collaboration with AO.