Slow shopping can save you money this holiday season. How it works

Impulse spending has a cure.

So-called “slow shopping” promotes the importance of taking time to think through each purchase to make more mindful buying decisions, according to consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch.

“This is definitely a shopping trend worth adopting to help you avoid impulse purchases and taking on debt,” she said. 

“When you give yourself time to move past an emotion or allow yourself time to reassess your need or desire without the worry of missing a deal, you can make a more level headed buying decisions,” Woroch said. “Often times, this will mean dodging an impulse purchase.”

In many cases, there are good reasons to wait. Slow shopping allows you to time your purchase based on when it’s on sale for the lowest price, Woroch explained.

A price-tracking browser extension such as CamelCamelCamel or Keepa can help you keep an eye on price changes and alert you when a price drops.

Slow shopping also allows for more time to save up for big-ticket items.

Slow shopping is already catching on this year as the antidote to spur-of-the-moment buying habits, which experts largely consider many consumers’ Achilles heel.

Nearly three-quarters — 73% — of consumers said they have adopted this approach for the holiday shopping season, according to a survey of 2,000 adults by Affirm.

Roughly 60% said they are starting their shopping earlier and being mindful about what they’re buying, and about half of shoppers said they are using slow shopping to take advantage of more deals and promotions, Affirm also found. 

“Every year, we see consumers starting their holiday shopping earlier, but this time it’s different — they are also taking their time,” Vishal Kapoor, senior vice president of product at Affirm, said in a statement.

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Holiday shoppers plan to spend more

The stakes are higher in 2024 with credit card debt already at $1.14 trillion.

This year, spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 is expected to increase again, to a record total of $979.5 billion to $989 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Shoppers may spend $1,778 on average, up 8% compared with last year, Deloitte’s holiday retail survey found. 

At the same time, 28% of shoppers who used credit cards have not paid off the presents they purchased last year, per a separate holiday spending report by NerdWallet. 

Too often over the holidays there is the urge to overspend, said Rod Griffin, senior director of consumer education and advocacy for Experian.

“The big red sales signs increase the temptation to buy,” he said.

More than half — 54% — of adults made at least one impulse purchase last holiday season, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.

Most were chasing deals. Roughly 44% of consumers who made unplanned purchases last holiday season bought it because they thought it was a good price or because the item was on sale, Bankrate found. Social media’s influence is also partly to blame.

Heading into this holiday season, one-third of shoppers said they plan to spend less than they did last year. Bankrate polled more than 2,400 adults between September and October.

To better manage your holiday spending, “it becomes increasingly important to have a plan,” said Experian’s Griffin.

“When you are thinking of holiday shopping, make a list and check it twice,” he said. “Use it to guide your spending and resist impulse buying.”

Setting money aside in a holiday fund can also help, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate. “If you’ve set money aside for it, you have more freedom to spend without overdoing it or taking on expensive credit card debt,” he said.

Starting earlier is another important way to save money, other experts say.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday falling later on the calendar this year, “it’s a shorter holiday season and that will force the retailer’s hand to be pretty promotional in November,” said Adam Davis, managing director at Wells Fargo Retail Finance.

Davis advises consumers to sign up for a store e-newsletter and mobile alerts, which may provide access to early deals and discounts or, at least, free shipping. “That can be as simple as signing up for loyalty programs,” he said.

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