Stress-free holiday shopping...here’s how.

Image credit: Premier Packaging

The exciting Holiday Season has finally arrived! For most of us, this means friends, family, & a goal to Shop ‘til you Drop. This year, put an end to the last-minute shopping madness and enjoy a stress-free Holiday Season with these helpful tips:

• Make a plan. Go through your calendar and make a note of every different social group you come into contact with (church, work, and personal friends) then write down all of their names as well. This way you will avoid the awkward and disheartening feeling of receiving a gift from someone and realizing you forgot to include them in your list!

• List what gifts you have in mind for each person. Then what most people will do is head to the store, but you can save yourself the leg work by searching online for each gift. Amazon and the Google Shopping tab are great places to get an initial price for your gifts and you can see what store has the best price & selection.

• Don’t pay the full price! Sign up for your favorite store’s email alerts so you can be the first to know of upcoming sales and exclusive coupons. Also you can avoid paying shipping, or get a discounted price if you go to Retailmenot.com. This site almost always has great coupon codes, but if you go to the physical store you can just ask the sales clerk what coupons or discounts they may have for today. Many companies will also post and tweet out discount codes, so be sure to follow them on your social media pages.

• Go shopping during the work day. If online shopping isn’t your thing, try shopping on a weekday during business hours. The majority of shoppers choose to browse the aisles after 5pm and on the weekends. To keep your shopping experience stress-free, you want to avoid the crowds so you can comb the racks in peace. You can always call a store to see if they have an item in-stock that you have seen online, and most of the time they will set it aside for you to pick up the same day.

• Go to the outlets. Outlet malls are usually great discount shopping alternatives to designer stores. However, you may want to take extra care in inspecting the quality of an outlet product. Some merchandise is sold at an outlet due to faulty manufacturing or is made to be sold at a discounted price (will not be as high quality as the non-outlet store merchandise).

• Embrace the madness. Black Friday (Friday, November 29, 2013) is for serious shoppers who brave enthusiastic crowds for super deals at brick-and-mortar stores. Many big ticket items (electronics, new products, and hot ticket items) are deeply discounted to officially kick off the Holiday shopping season. If you would like to avoid the overzealous gift givers, Cyber Monday (Monday, December 2, 2013) is when you can seize the best deals online from the stress free comfort of your home. Many stores have similar or even better Cyber Monday deals on electronics and large purchases than Black Friday. Small Business Saturday (November 30, 2013) is another shopping day where shoppers support participating small local businesses who offer great deals to compete with retail giants such as Amazon.

We hope our UnitWise Holiday shopping tips were useful, be sure to check back on this blog for UnitWise tips, new updates, and other useful information. Happy Shopping!



Disclaimer:

UnitWise is not affiliated with Mary Kay, any suggestions given above are for educational purpose only. Please consult with your Sales Director or Senior Sales Director before adopting a new business strategy.