It’s hard to turn down the best deals of the year, but the ladies of Her Campus want to make sure you get a good deal without getting mauled by insane shoppers.
Scout Out What You Want Online First
The last thing you want to do on Black Friday is to be roaming around a store, not sure what you’re looking for, amidst a mob of thousands of other people. Make the most of your time by looking online at your favorite stores and see which ones have something you might want, that way you can make the most of your time by hitting your favorite stores and knowing what to look for. The best part is that if you can’t find that cute sweater you wanted in the store, you could always get a good deal online on Cyber Monday.
Look Through Your Closet and Figure Out What You Need
As good as Black Friday deals may be, it’s pointless to buy something you don’t need or will never wear. Make sure to look through your closet and get an idea of what you might need so you know exactly where to look and what to look for.
Look for Black Friday Deals Online
A lot of stores will actually have black Friday deals online to avoid chaos in their store, so look online in advance to see if you can get a good deal there instead. After all, shopping from your couch is way more relaxing than running around a store.
Try Going to Stores That Are Normally Too Expensive for You
Black Friday has the best deals of the year, right? If you think you could get something cheap from your favorite store any other day of the year, try going to a place a little more expensive, you might be able to snag a really good deal.
Find Someone to Give You a Ride
The last thing you want to do is drive around and look for a parking spot while stores are starting to run out of merchandise. Find a friend (or family member) to drop you off and pick you up so you have as much time as possible.
Get Up Early!!! Getting up super early to walk around and try on clothes is tough, especially when you’re still in your Thanksgiving food coma. But, these are usually the best deals you can get, so sacrifice those extra few hours to get the most selection from your favorite brands.
Keep Track of Your Stuff
This probably sounds really obvious but when tons of people are packed into close spaces belongings can get stolen easily. Black Friday is no fun when you’ve gotten something stolen, so make sure to keep your purse zipped and your shopping bags as close to you as possible. I’d also recommend putting smaller bags into larger ones to make it easier to carry and prevent people from potentially being able to steal something.
Spread Out Your Shopping Trips
A lot of brands carry over black Friday deals through Thanksgiving weekend and maybe even a week or two longer. Check out what stores are offering deals when and hit the stores you know will only have deals on Black Friday that day. Save yourself the stress and just take an extra trip again later in the week to stores that will still be carrying Black Friday discounts.
Split Up from Your Friends
As fun as it is going shopping with friends, you’re going to get a lot more out of your day if you split up and go on your own. There’s no point in wasting time in a store you don’t like waiting for a friend when there are a million other stores you’d rather go to. Divide and conquer! You can always meet up at Starbucks afterwards.
Set a Budget
It’s easy to go overboard when everything is so cheap and you can find good deals all over the place, but before you know it you’ll have spent way more than you intended to. It’s much easier to prevent yourself from overspending when you already go in with a set budget. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.