IF you hit the shops without a plan, you can easily end up spending far more than you intended.
High street stores know exactly how to pique our interest, highlighting big discounts and putting offers at our eye line.
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And it’s often the case that we’ll finish shopping with items that we don’t need or even really want.
But armed with just a few techniques, you can beat the high street giants at their own game and root out the real bargains to save a stack of cash.
Always have an idea in your mind of exactly what you want to buy before you start browsing.
Then follow this advice, as we explain how to pick up the best bargains at your favourite stores.
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Hold your nerve at Next
The Next seasonal sales happen periodically to clear winter, summer, spring and autumn lines and this is the best time to get a bargain.
Personal stylist Lisa Talbot said: “The sales came be quite overwhelming. Make sure you are not only buying something as it’s cheap, otherwise it’s a costly mistake.
Next often starts its sale with 60% off clothes but towards the end of the month, you might get 75% off.
“That is when retailers are really keen to shift old season stock so you might get a items initially worth £130 for £30,” Lisa adds.
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Voucher codes for Next are rare but shoppers are often offered an extra discount code when you sign up for the Next newsletter, too, so this is worth doing if you’re a fan of the brand.
Look for secret codes at TK Maxx
At TK Maxx, staff add secret codes to labels so you can tell if you’re getting a good deal. Look in the right hand corner of the label.
One means it was produced for TK Maxx so the item may be good value but more were produced so the store can price it cheaper.
But a number two means it was on sale for a higher price elsewhere but the shop has managed to get the item and can pass on to its own shoppers for less – this is where the real bargains are to be had.
The number seven means it is a pack-away from a previous year and is also a good deal.
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Download B&M’s barcode scanner
B&M shoppers claim to have saved hundreds of pounds using its scanner, which is available if you download the B&M app.
It allows you to find discounted products before staff have even reduced them on the shop floor and it lets you see if the price is cheaper than advertised in store.
Products typically discounted include seasonal items or old stock B&M is trying to shift and the scanner is completely free to use. Simply download the app in the App Store or Google Play.
Once you’ve got the app, click the ‘scan’ option to bring up your smartphone camera and use it to scan the barcode.
The app will then bring up the item’s price so you will know whether it is reduced or not. You will need a bit of time on your hands to go round scanning different products.
If you get lucky and find a bargain, the product should scan at the price at the till.
Become a member at H&M
Some stores offer bigger discounts if you take out a membership. At H&M, signing up as a member is free and you get early access to sales, as well as special ‘member’ prices.
You also get 10% off your first purchase, free delivery if you spend over £30 and 25% off on your birthday.
Nike also offers Nike+ membership via it’s app, with exclusive member offers, free delivery and 25% off on your birthday. The Perfume Shop is another that offers free delivery for members.
Haggle with chatbots
It’s worth using live chat to see if a retailer can offer any further discount.
Researchers from consumer campaign group Which? secured 20 per cent off Boden and 10 per cent off from the Perfume Shop when they tried this approach.
If you can say you found the same item cheaper elsewhere, they might be more inclined to offer you money off.
Try cashback sites for Asos, New Look and Asda
You can currently get 5.5% cash back purchases from Argos and up to 6.6 % at Asos and New Look if you buy via the cashback site Quidco.co.uk.
A basic membership is free and over 5,000 retailers are signed up.
Topcashback is another popular cashback site that’s free to join and offers money back.
Currently you can get 5.5%5 at George at Asda, 7% at Boots and 12% at Marks and Spencer.
Cashback sites strike deals with retailers and as a result pay you for purchases you make online.
Signing up is free, you’ll just need to set up an account by entering a few details such as your name and email address.
Then, when you’re ready to shop, all you have to do is go to the usual website where you want to make a purchase – but instead of going there direct, you go through the cashback site.
You then earn a percentage of your purchase back.
The amount you get depends on what deal is available and which retailer you use.
So, for example, if there’s 10% cashback deal on a site and you spend a tenner, you get £1 back in your cashback account.
Both sites often offer extra perks like new member bonuses, referral bonuses and other cash amounts for shopping at specific shops.
These change regularly, though don’t be tempted to spend money you didn’t plan to, otherwise it’s not a saving.
How to get cashback every time you shop
NOT using a cashback site or app means you are missing out every time you shop. Here are full-time bargain hunter Collette Jones’ best tips.
- Check out welcome offers: Cashback sites have amazing freebies for new customers, such as a takeaway from Just Eat or a Benefit beauty product
- Look for cashback on everything: You can claim on things such as MOTs, insurance, train tickets and holidays
- Save money at the supermarket: It’s a good idea to download apps Shopmium, Check-outSmart, Quidco ClickSnap, GreenJinn and TopCashback’s Snap and Save. Check out what is available, pick it up in-store and upload a photo of the receipt to get your cashback
- Combine cashback offers with promotions: Double savings and maximise cashback by matching third-party offers from cashback sites with in-store and online promotions. You can’t always use discount codes with cashback, but you can take advantage of sales and offers such as free gifts
- Download cashback notifiers: The website Honey has a great notifier. It sits in your browser, pops up when you click on a website that offers cashback and searches voucher codes
Check labels at Matalan
During the sales at Matalan, staff will write on labels if a product is to be discounted even further.
So, if it says 1.5 on the label, this item may soon be reduced to £1.50. It’s worth asking sales staff if you can have it at that price now or go back in a couple of days when it is likely to have been reduced.
The Matalan Me loyalty card offers early discounts to sales, exclusive discounts to shoppers and birthday treats and you can build reward points to get discounts on products long after the sales have ended.
Sign up for a Boots reward card
The Boots Advantage Card is one of the most generous loyalty card schemes in the UK.
Free to join, customers earn points every time they shop which can be used to buy treats, stock up on essentials or even buy Meal Deals for lunch.
Card holders also benefit from Price Advantage, which means exclusive savings on over 800 products every month.
You will get personalised offers via the Boots app, including 200 points just for downloading it, extra benefits in the Parenting club, over 60s rewards and 10 per cent student discount all year round.
What is the Advantage card?
THE Boots Advantage Card launched in 1997 and celebrated its 25th year in 2022.
Across its history, over 15million customers have used the loyalty scheme to get bonus points when they spend money online or in-store.
Over 50,000 customers who signed up to the scheme in 1997 were still using the card as of August 2022.
Members get three points for every £1 spent in-store, online or via the Boots app.
Once you’ve collected the points, they’re worth 1p each and can be redeemed for money off most things in store.
In 2022, Boots launched Price Advantage, which offers customers with a Boots Advantage card access to lower prices on different products, similar to the Tesco Clubcard.
In recent months, Boots expanded its own brand range to offer 6,000 products across baby, health and beauty departments.
To sign up for the scheme, visit www.boots.com/AdvantageCardApply.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll receive an email with your full digital card number.
Customers can also pick up a physical plastic Advantage card in-store.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
