Filed under: Retail, Holiday Shopping, Personal Finance, Internet, Financial Education
For many, Black Friday is a jump start to the holiday shopping season. But if you've never been a fan of crowds, there's a way to get what you need or want without leaving the house. While everyone fights for a parking spot and loses sleep, you can stay in on Black Friday and shop on Cyber Monday instead.
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and it's one of the best days to shop online. Several online retailers participate in Cyber Monday by offering online-only sales and promotions, as well as free shipping with no minimum. The deals typically start at midnight Eastern time on Sunday night, reports BuyVia.com. So, if you can stay up a little later, you can snag your deals early and still be on time for work.
But just like Black Friday, you need a strategy for Cyber Monday. However, since many Cyber Monday sales aren't revealed until the weekend before or the actual day of, there isn't a lot of time to plan. You need reinforcement -- a way to find the best deals quick. Fortunately, you can download several apps to your smartphone or tablet to save time and money.
1. Savings.com. Download the Savings.com app for Cyber Monday deals and stay one step ahead of the game. This app is free and easy to use. It's an excellent way to search for the best Cyber Monday online deals, allowing you to purchase what you need before retailers sell out. You'll gain access to the latest coupon codes, plus you can seamlessly compare prices across multiple retail sites in one place. The app has deals from over 25,000 retailers, such as Macy's (M), J.C. Penney (JCP) and Home Depot (HD).
2. BuyVia. Download the BuyVia app and find online-only Cyber Monday deals offered by your favorite retail stores. Search for the lowest prices on items at Amazon.com (AMZN), Macy's, Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY) and Toys R Us, just to name a few. With the app's customizable features, you can select products you're looking to purchase and then receive an alert when the item goes on sale. If you use deal websites, such as Groupon and Living Social, the app can bring all of your favorite sites together in one place for easy comparison shipping.
3 Coupons at Checkout. Cyber Monday deals and sales are better when paired with a coupon code. And fortunately, several retailers allow customers to combine a coupon code with discount prices. Coupons at Checkout is a free app and one of the fast ways to find coupon codes while you shop. You don't have to comb the Internet or search high and low for a discount code. Simply type the name of the retailer of choice and the app searches for available discount code savings.
4. RetailMeNot. The RetailMeNot app is extremely easy to navigate. Scouring the Internet for the best deals takes time, but this app does the hard work for you. Whether you're looking for the best deal on a tablet computer, household goods or clothing, this app searches for deals and coupons at over 50,000 retailers. All you have to do is enter a retailer's name or a specific item, and RetailMeNot goes to work. It complies a list of coupon codes, best offers and other promotions in just a couple of clicks.
Bonus -- CyberMonday.com. We might be examining the best apps, but CyberMonday.com deserve a mention. To get your online shopping day off to a good start, you need to visit the official Cyber Monday website -- with deals from over 800 participating retailers. You can shop by category, featured deals, or search the site for coupon codes or specific retailers. CyberMonday.com saves time and money; and when you locate a coupon code or deal you like, just click the link and you'll be directed to the retailer's website.
