Tis’ the season to be jolly!The Nation Retail Federation (NRF) recently completed its annual survey on Christmas consumer expectations. Within the survey, NRF asked respondents if they would make changes in shopping behavior given economic difficulties and, if so, how they planned on cutting back on their spending. Here is a list of steps that can be helpful

Before we go down the list, we should comment that the word “SALE” itself can be misleading. Merchants often

advertise that an item is “on sale”, but the bottom line is that regular prices have been  increased so that the new price appears to be a reduction, when it is the same old price.

1st Place: Shopping for Sales.  A popular method of saving this season is sale shopping. For  many merchants, the busiest time of the year is the days  between Halloween and Christmas. The survey indicated that those with a head start snag the best deals. Roughly 66 percent of Christmas shoppers start their bargain hunting before December, with half starting before November.

2nd Place: Coupons. Technology has revolutionized couponing in only a matter of years. Today, you can walk into a store, find what you want to buy, and find coupons on your smart phone. The best part is you don’t even need to print most of them. Just pull up the image on your phone and give to the cashier to scan. The process is nearly instantaneous and results in zero paper cuts. Of course this assumes that you  have migrated from the traditional phone connected  to a wire to a compute in your palm, which we call a cell phone.

3rd Place: Comparing Prices On the Internet.  It can take hours to scout numerous stores and compare prices to arrive at the best deal. Going door to door means spending time and money traveling. Even if you are able to browse several retailers, there is still a good chance you’ll miss the best price.

Many of the largest retailers now advertise their prices online. In a matter of moments, you can compare a half-dozen websites. Online shopping and price comparison makes the list at number three of the most popular ways to save on Christmas spending.

4th Place: Buying More Practical Gifts.  While a big budget certainly seems to provide  more choices in potential gifts, it doesn’t guarantee satisfaction. By gifting practically, you can replace big-ticket gifts with more reasonably priced items, which may mean more to the person who receives your gift.

Final Thoughts. You’ll notice the most popular ways to save  involve  smarter shopping. Retailers are looking to move large volumes of sales for the holiday, and you can use this to your advantage. If you can capitalize on the deals that are out there, you’ll greatly reduce your budget while buying the same gifts.

Reference from US News