There are two basic reasons why people buy things: Need and want. Many times the lines between that need and want may blur as people rationalize why the purchase is a need. Even the chocolate bon bons are a “need” by some interpretations, if they fill an emotional void.
Regardless of the basis for the shopping, it is a part of most cultures and is a pastime that many enjoy. With the holiday season coming up, retail, whether online or offline, is gearing up for the biggest season of the year, and hopefully their most profitable.
What People Buy
People buy what makes them happy. They also buy when they are in need. If someone is putting together a holiday dinner and the refrigerator goes out, it is a necessity to go obtain another refrigerator, or suffer the loss of the holiday dinner, and then some.
The holiday season is an excellent time to find those “needs” that include small appliances and entertainment devices that will help to fulfill traditional events and help the loved ones to have an exciting gift-opening experience.
Where People Buy
When the need arises, people may tend to hop down to their favorite store to fill that need. With the holidays, it is like having weeks feeling and responding to the need to shop and making purchases, especially when the word, “sale” is attached to it.
Another venue for shopping is the online arena. It has been around for years, but each year there are more and more companies that add special deals for the holiday shopping. Even “Cyber Monday” has been coined to allow those who have done their department store shopping the opportunity to spend money at the online stores the following Monday after Black Friday.
As retailers are preparing for the holiday and dressing their shops up to prepare for contemporary shopping trends, the online stores are preparing, as well, with their “window dressings” for their web sites.
Shopping has different flavors and approaches, whether it is online or offline. Shopping, like most things, has it trends, like curated shopping. With creative ideas like that, creative ways of surviving the shopping season are also needed.
Creative Shopping That Leaves Money In the Bank
Some great tips on how to survive the 2014 holiday shopping season are offered by dailyfinance.com. In that article, there are tips like managing those expectations before the shopping trip, as well as considering shopping online, when that is a more feasible option. One of the key suggestions offered is doing the needed research. The combination of shopping online and research could be a solution for some.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking online shopping? Many times it is amazon or ebay. But, these are not the only online shopping opportunities for the savvy shopper.
There are also untapped creative opportunities to purchase brand new treasures for even deeper discounts at online retailers that provide products that are considered “overstocked.”
This is not a new concept, and brick-and-mortar stores have been in on the concept for decades. There are even stores that sell products from other stores that have experienced disasters (like fires) where the store closes and there is perfectly good product that needs a new home.
In the same way, stores provide products that they have been able to obtain for deep savings and can then pass those savings on to the consumer.
Examples of discount opportunities for stores include overstocked items and the original store needs to move the product to make room for more product, especially during this holiday shopping season.
If the shopper has the time to do the needed research and online enough to catch the deals, there can be even more opportunities to save. An example would be the use of coupons that are available for stores like Currys where the deep discounts are enhanced by additional savings opportunities. Already, Currys offers discounts on things like appliances and entertainment devices, so the use of additional coupons is that much more desirable.
The beauty of utilizing these creative shopping ideas is that not only does the shopper save money, but there are more opportunities to shop and shop some more. What better way to fulfill those needs and those wants?
