Amazon kicks the holiday shopping season into high gear
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - First, there were Prime Days in the summer.
Now, today comes Amazon's newest push to get you to spend. It's called Prime Early Access.
"Early" means shopping for the holidays and other retailers are jumping on the bandwagon. You would think with inflation and money in the household tight, buyers would be reluctant.
But according to the National Retail Federation, that is not the case.
41% of us plan to start shopping for the holiday this month, and to almost 60%, getting a good deal is more important this year than ever.
"For this specific day, yes, there are deals, but doesn't mean that these deals aren't going to come along again," Rob Bertman said. Bertman is the founder of Family Budget Expert.
Bertman said Amazon and its competitive co-players Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are good at building up the pressure to prime us to buy now.
"So, the combination of this urgency, there's the clock ticking, it's only a limited time, combined with the fact that we see these discounts versus what they should be costing. Really, as a consumer, we're just really primed like you said to get out there and make the decision to buy something that may we may or may not need," Bertman said.
But beware of baiting.
"You look for something and then you put something else that you might want in front of your face to put in the cart."
It is so early in the shopping season Bertman said the competition for your money is just starting, and the major push is still more than a month away with retail desperation only rising.
"So we might see an even bigger punch than before to make some sales for these for the people that want to sell things for the holidays," Bertman said.
The sales have already started and you will see deals on just about everything, especially electronics, but Bertman cautioned to shop around online before you buy.
Bertman laid out a strategy for successful shopping for today, tomorrow, and beyond.
But is he trying to discourage people from shopping?
Actually, not quite.
He said if it's an item you know you are going to buy sooner or later, and it's the item you want and the price is right and you have the money, he said go for it.
No one is telling you not to check out the sales, but Bertman said to build a pause into your clicking before you buy.
"Don't just buy something because it's on sale, buy it because you need it or you feel like you will need it between now and the end of the year."
Bertman said before you even open the Amazon, Walmart, or Target sites, make a plan.
"We need to know what we actually need and what are we actually planning to buy in advance," said Bertman.
And he said don't be sucked into the false urgency of a deal, because it may not be a deal at all.
"A lot of times, Amazon will do things like, 'we only have this many limited available,' and you feel like you have to get right now that you even have the few seconds it takes online to really comparison shop."
But force yourself to check the competitors.
"Those extra keystrokes can really pay off," he said.
Bertman said to take the time to read reviews and remember, it's only October 11.
If you miss out on an opportunity, there's going to be another opportunity, probably you know, in four or five weeks anyway, so don't feel the pressure to really go for it today if you're not really ready to do that."
That said if it's what you want and the price is right?
"I think a lot of people should and maybe could think of this as an opportunity to get those early sales, those early deals on holiday gifts," Bertman said.
Bertman said you'll protect your budget and money better if you look at the sales not as what you are saving but how much you are spending.
So, if you have the money and the sales are out there, you shouldn't feel guilty going for it?
Yes, but just know, there's a lot of time before the holidays and that deal today may pale in comparison to deals to come.
It's kind of a gamble.