Good news for bargain hunters. Many retailers have already launched their Black Friday sales in stores and online, so get in line at dawn and saunter through the stores to get your hands on the coveted Black Friday deals. Gone are the days when you had to. .
Some major retailers, including Target, Amazon and J.C. Penney, announced promotions a week before Thanksgiving, but others, including Walmart, ended their promotions on Monday.
Some experts say this is a broader shift to extend discounts and sales throughout the entire month of November, not just Black Friday and its online counterpart, Cyber Monday.
Still, Black Friday remains a popular day to buy holiday gifts. Based on its research, the National Retail Federation predicts that 132 million people will go shopping that day, with nearly two-thirds of those shopping in stores.
The preference for in-person shopping on Black Friday has changed from last year, when the National Retail Federation estimated that 76.2 million people shopped in-person and 90.6 million people bought online.
Consumers who want to avoid the hustle and bustle of stores and search for promotions and discounts online need to be wary of retailers trying to pressure shoppers into making purchases, online scams, and door thieves trying to steal packages from their front door. Here are some tips from experts to help you navigate the first big shopping weekend of the season.
Pressure to make impulse purchases
It’s already exhausting to make a gift list and check it twice to make sure you’re missing something for anyone, whether it’s your aunt in Boca Raton or the mailman down the street. When you see one of these gifts for sale at an online retailer, you’ll notice a bold tag that says things like “In High Demand,” “Low in Stock,” or “You have 10 in your cart.” If it’s just displayed, it’s even more overwhelming. “This might sell out, so you need to buy it now.”
These are often just mind games played by retailers and advertisers, “designed to encourage hasty spending decisions,” said RS Cross, campaign director at the Public Interest Research Group.
The group found that some sellers on the online marketplace Etsy were using fake countdown timers for transactions with no expiration date, in addition to sending emergency messages.
PIRG used sale countdown timers to track 20 best-selling or Etsy-curated items and found that 16 timers reset for an additional 24 hours once the timer reaches zero. The prices of the remaining four items decreased further when the timer expired.
Other common tactics include displaying product prices in monthly installments. This “both makes low-priced products seem cheaper and makes it easier to make expensive impulse purchases,” the group says.
To resist this manipulation, Consumer Reports suggests that consumers create a budget and stick to it. That’s easier said than done, especially when a Black Friday sale is presented as a limited-time offer.
Consumer Reports also recommends starting your shopping early. If you purchase an item now and later discover that the price has dropped, contact customer service and they will usually refund you the difference.
When looking for deals this week, compare items from different online retailers and “don’t get distracted by offers you haven’t had time to consider,” Cross said.
You can use online tools like Google Shopping, Price Grabber, and Shopzilla to compare prices of products from different retailers.
avoid online scams
When browsing the internet for sales for a particular brand or retailer, always make sure you are clicking and purchasing from their official website.
Online security group McAfee has identified a surge in fake sites and phishing scams that use the names of popular luxury brands and tech products to trick consumers into purchasing products at incredibly low prices. In exchange, you are providing your personal information (credit card, address, account information, etc.) to cybercriminals.
McAfee researchers have discovered this type of scam targeting shoe and handbag brands such as Adidas and Louis Vuitton. Scammers also deceived consumers by using the Apple brand on fake websites linked to stores that sold counterfeit Apple products along with unrelated brands.
Experts say the best way to combat these scams is to be suspicious of a product if the discount seems unbelievably high. Check the website URL carefully to ensure it is legitimate. Even slight differences in spelling or style are telltale signs of fraud.
pirate on the porch
Purchasing online is as easy as clicking the “Complete Order” button and waiting for your package to arrive at your door. However, porch pirates may also be looking for packages to arrive in order to steal them.
According to the Better Business Bureau, these thieves primarily steal packages from homes that are within 8 feet of the street and have easily visible entrances.
According to Security.org, porch pirates have stolen approximately $12 billion worth of packages in the past year. Security systems analysts have found that apartment renters are twice as likely to have their packages stolen as people living in single-family homes.
To avoid becoming a victim of package theft, experts recommend scheduling a delivery for the day it arrives at your home. You can sign up for tracking notifications from retailers, UPS, FedEx, and USPS to notify you of estimated delivery dates and times.
Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department said you may be able to keep porch pirates at bay if you can block the view of your front door by parking your car in your driveway.
If you know you won’t be home when your package arrives, the Los Angeles Police Department recommends asking a trusted neighbor or friend to watch and pick up your package. Some shipping companies offer the ability to change the drop-off time and location of your package.
There is no need to have your package delivered to your home. Many retailers offer the option of having items shipped to a physical store, typically for pick-up at a customer service counter or designated parking space on-site.
Amazon installs pick-up counters or self-service lockers at retail stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies. FedEx can store packages for up to 7 days at participating retail stores such as FedEx Office, Walgreens, Office Depot, and Dollar General stores.
If you insist on having your package delivered and can’t pick it up at home, there are various types of lockboxes and secure oversized mailboxes available, although they can be expensive. Alternatively, you can install a security camera or doorbell with a built-in webcam, but this won’t necessarily stop theft. Instead, you can collect the evidence you need to obtain a refund from the shipper and share it with local law enforcement.
“If a specific area is targeted and everyone reports, police will know where the porch burglary problem is occurring and can deploy resources accordingly,” Madison said.
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