My guide on how to shop Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and everything in between to get the best deals!
Stores i’ll be shopping at:
1. FILL YOUR CART!
A few days before Cyber Week starts, go to each website and just fill your cart up! Anything you’ve been eyeing, or anything that you’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on. If you don’t like it, you can always return it (Places like Sole Society will throw in a Final Sale when they have big deals- so just watch out for that)!
Once your cart is filled (look at the total and pass out- just kidding 😉 YOU WILL GET COUPON CODES!) make sure you SIGN IN to save all of the contents to your cart (this also helps if you’re shopping over multiple devices) so you’re ready to check out as soon as the coupons drop!
2. LOOK OUT FOR PRICE ADJUSTMENT POLICIES!
I always take note if I am able to price adjust prior to making a purchase on something I know I can get a better deal on!
J.Crew is well know for having the BEST customer service. I have price adjusted at J.Crew multiple times. Note, they will adjust prices within 1 week of order date.
Because J.Crew has really good deals (usually 40% off plus free shipping- at some point during Cyber Week) their sizes go VERY quickly on hot items. I would suggest ordering things like their Lodge coat (which I saw in store and fell in L O V E with!), the Lady Day coat, Stadium Cloth Cocoon coat, Downtown Field jacket, or Chateau Parka no earlier than Monday Nov. 19, to take advantage of potential sizes being available prior to the big markdowns. Sizes are available in 000-24 in petite, regular, and tall sizes- so they have EVERYONE covered (pun intended.)
Nordstrom is another store that price adjusts. They price adjust within 2 weeks of the original order date. Nordstrom also price matches, which is awesome because their return policy is freaking amazing. So if you see something you are unsure of keeping/liking, order it from Nordstrom and you can have more time with your purchase to decide.
Loft does NOT price adjust on items purchased on sale, so if you buy something fir 30% off, then the next day its 50% off, they will not honor it. Price adjustments are only on full priced items- which totally sucks.
3. ORDER AS SOON AS YOUR SIZE BECOMES AVAILABLE!
If a retailer is offering free shipping, order often! If you have a few things that you have your eye on, keep refreshing the website and if you notice that the color or size that you wanted is available, order it! If there is free shipping, it won’t cost you anything to order multiple things whenever something becomes available!
4. SIGN UP FOR REWARDS PROGRAMS
Some stores like American Eagle/Aerie, and Abercrombie, and now J.Crew/J.Crew Factory offer rewards programs at no cost to the consumer. Once you sign up you can start earning points based on dollar amounts spent, rack up enough points and you’ll get a monetary reward. With American Eagle’s program, you get free jeans and bras!🙌
5. BOOKMARK YOUR FAVORITE GIFT GUIDES
This one is self explanatory, if you come across an awesome gift guide, bookmark it in your browser, or save the website on your phone! That way, you can always go back to it to check and see if the items that they have on their gift guides are on sale.
Be sure to use that bloggers link if you are purchasing through their gift guide! They spent a lot of time on curating the best items for you, so give them credit!
You can bookmark my gift guide a well!
6. KEEP A LIST OF ALL YOUR FAVORITE INSTASTORY BLOGGERS
Cyber Week is going to be all that anyone on stories is going to be talking about! With the sudden influx of new stories from people who might not always broadcast, it’s easy to lose sight of your favorite ‘grammers, so keep a list!
7. SIGN UP FOR STORE EMAILS
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday being such awesome times to shop, you’ll want to make sure that you sign up for store emails so sale info is waiting for you when you wake up in the morning! Sometimes stores like to send email specific codes as well, especially if you’re a loyal shopper.
However, because Cyber Week is such a high traffic time, emails can get delayed; so for that reason or if you just don’t want to sign up for emails, you can also just keep windows on your phone, or in your browser open to a retailers landing page. Morning of, all you have to do is refresh the page to see what deals the retailer is offering so you’re always on top of the sale info. I always have a TON of windows open to different retailers daily, to make sure I’m giving you guys the best sale info!
Make sure you have any coupons, or gift certificates handy so you can use them when your making your Cyber Week purchases! Also, if you have already memorized your credit card info, make sure you have your wallet within reach or saved to a website so you can check out without any issues.
8. SHOP FOR SPLURGE ITEMS
Cyber Week is the BEST TIME to shop for splurge items that you might not otherwise buy because they are usually so heavily discounted! A lot of hot items include boots, coats, and sweaters- especially cashmere ones!
Like I said at the top of the post, J.Crew is probably the best place to shop if you need a wool coat– they’re the warmest! They’re also really good when it comes to cashmere! I personally don’t own any cashmere because its too high maintenance for me (AKA- I can’t machine wash it!)
My favorite places for non-cashmere sweaters are old navy, H&M, American Eagle, Express…
As far as boots go, if you want to splurge on a pair of waterproof boots that don’t look like snow boots, now is the time to do it! Other places I love to shop for boots are: DSW, Macy’s, Zappos, Target, Nordstrom, and Steve Madden !
Cyber Week is also a great time to shop for home decor to get your home ready for the Holiday’s! Throw blankets always make a great gift, especially when they’re as soft as these! Places like Target, Pier1, Pottery barn (they have an entire section dedicated to seasonal decor!), and Crate+Barrel have awesome deals not only on decor for your home, but also on mugs and little add ons that you can use as stocking stuffers or to put other gifts in!
HAPPY SHOPPING!!!
