Top 5 Shopping Tips.
Whenever I am asked what my hobbies are, I always want to say shopping, because in reality that is what I spend a lot of my time doing. As I have grown up and began working for what I purchase, I have made an effort to learn how to shop smarter. I no longer feel guilty when shopping because I am always finding great deals and total bargains. So keep reading to learn about my top 5 shopping tips that I can always rely on when I shop in store or online- they are serious lifesavers.
☆ 1. Shop in store: Shopping in stores as oppose to online is one of the biggest tips I can offer you because this has repeatedly proven to work when it comes to scoring great deals. Often stores will have much better deals in store than they are showing online. I have come across items online that seem like a steal only to find out that in store, they are offering an additional percent off. So, if you are browsing online for an item and happen to have a store near you, I promise it is worth it to go check it out. Most physical stores these days are struggling due to the rise of online shopping; therefore, you are bound to score some bargains when you shop in store.
☆ 2. Search for coupons: When shopping I always make the effort to google search "*store you are shopping at* coupons" and browse through the results. You would be surprised at how many stores will fail to mention that they offer a percent off if you sign up for their email subscriptions, or if they are offering a certain dollar amount off of an amount spent. With a simple google search, you can easily find a picture of a coupon or offer to show the store employees checking you out, or if you choose to online shop, you can find coupon codes that the website may have not been flaunting, but hey, more deals for you! I recently went into Hollister as I saw they were having a $25 sale on all their jeans. As I was checking out I used this tip and ended up finding out that if I signed up for their email subscription I would get $10 off of a $25 purchase- aka $15 jeans! For jeans that originally cost around $70, what a steal! Obviously, this quick tip could end up saving you a lot in the long run.
☆ 3. No full price items: This tip is sometimes a little difficult for people to follow because now-a-days much of us crave instant gratification. While I fall victim to this as well, I have become better at saying no to full price items because I know they will end up being on sale soon. This tip is great for those pricier stores, such as Free People or Madewell, that have adorable clothing at very steep prices. I promise- saying no to full price items at these stores will be the gift that eventually keeps on giving. I mean, really, what is better than purchasing a high quality item that you LOVE, on sale?! I will admit the waiting and monitoring of stores for this tip can be time confusing, but in the end, it will be worth it because you will score amazing pieces for a fraction of the price you would have originally bought them for.
☆ 4. Student discounts: I am new to this whole "student discount" world, as I just recently received a university email, but this tip has already saved me a lot of money in the short amount of time I have been using it. Many amazing stores such as Topshop, ASOS, and Kate Spade offer college students a discount. When checking out, it never hurts to ask "Do you offer a student discount?" because if they do, you will end saving so much money when shopping. Just recently at Madewell, I came across these adorable suede booties (featured in my last post) that were in store for $69.99- they originally were $210. Online right now they are being sold for $99.99, so you can already see tip #1 in action, but anyways, in store Madewell was offering an additional 30% off of sale items (tip #1 again) AND an additional 15% off through their student discount (this tip- yay!!!). Therefore, I ended up scoring a $210 pair of booties for a little less than $40. Ohhh, I love shopping.
☆ 5. Search, search, search: A big part of finding deals when shopping is to LOOK FOR THEM! It would be very helpful if the bargains in a store had an arrow pointing to them, but unfortunately, it is not that easy. I have spent many minutes, and even hours, flipping through racks and bins in search of great deals in stores. With the effort, you are bound to find amazing pieces of clothing and other items that will make you forget about all the time you spent searching for them. In stores like Belk that sell brands such as Free People (omg love), I can be found searching through racks and racks of clothes, sometimes in sections that aren't related to what I am looking for, but in the end, when I find that hidden gem that is such a steal...I am on cloud nine. I have found numerous Free People clothing items at Belk for around $20 or less, and though it takes time, I am never let down!
Best of luck on your future shopping trips! Let me know if you give these tips a try. ✩
Much love,
Brooke XO