Millions of shoppers log in on their devices on Cyber Monday to beat the queue and save money. Premium purchases can be made at discounted prices on popular products and service categories ranging from consumer electronics to apparel. During this shopping frenzy, it’s also necessary to ensure the shopping experience doesn’t get out of hand. Here are some nifty shopping hacks that one can follow to get the best deals ahead of fellow shoppers.

Compare old offers
Last year’s Cyber Monday sale prices can give shoppers a fairly good estimate of the prices to be expected for this sale. Most brands will reintroduce new offers in popular categories of products and services to move inventory. So, take a good look at prices listed for the previous year and prepare a budget that works best this season.

Make a list of purchases
One of the first things to do well before the shopping season sale is to list products and services required this year. Set priorities straight so one can avoid overspending on unnecessary things. When the sale goes live, it can be quite overwhelming and tempting to add every discounted product to the checkout cart. Stick to the list, and if there is room left for ad hoc purchases, consider spending the leftover money on these offers.

Add products to checkout
Adding the product or service to the checkout ensures that a particular slot is booked. This is an incredible hack that many shoppers are unaware of, and they tend to miss out on offers because someone else bookmarked it to the checkout first. Adding it to the queue does not initiate a transaction, so no money gets debited, but the product remains available until payment is made.

Bookmark popular websites
Once the list is ready, scour the internet for early bird deals or get estimates based on the previous sale. Planning ahead saves time and effort during the event. So, step one, bookmark favorite retail outlets and e-commerce platforms that provide the best offers. Next, have all the information ready, including login ids, passwords, and credit card information. Following this process gives the advantage over other shoppers scrambling to get the deals. As soon as the offers are up for grabs, add them to the checkout queue before hopping on to the next product or service.

Log in ahead of time
People who miss out on the best offers are the ones who are late to the sale party. That’s because, Cyber Monday sales start at midnight and go live simultaneously across the country. However, states on the west coast are a few hours behind compared to shoppers on the east coast. So, they will have to log in early to get in line with fellow shoppers from the east coast at 12 am. Also, the website can handle only a limited number of requests before the server shuts down to manage the load. So, it pays to log in ahead of time.

Check social media
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X) are the top social media platforms to get all the latest updates about Cyber Monday sales. Check the pages of brands and popular e-commerce platforms for digital flyers and links that automatically redirect to the shopping website. Most of the early bird deals and offers on branded premium purchases can be found on these portals. Millions of users log in to these sites. So, brands and e-commerce websites capitalize on the number of page requests and visits to generate maximum interest for their products.

Sign up for newsletters
It’s beneficial to get the inbox spammed with hundreds of digital flyers and product mailers during the Cyber Monday shopping event. Mainly because it’ll eliminate the extra task of searching for products as tailor-made offers are sent directly to subscribers. It’s not possible to keep track of every deal across multiple websites. Plus, some of these curated offers are better than the deals that go live during the sale.

Shop ahead for Christmas
Cyber Monday is the best time to shop for consumer electronics, among other popular product and service categories. It’s the only time one can pay half price for a premium product and save money shopping smartly. So why not get Christmas shopping done during the sale? This way, its possible to purchase gifts in bulk for friends and family and avoid the last-minute hassle during the holiday rush.

Be patient
The shopping event will be live from midnight onwards, and there can be a good chance many of the best offers will get sold out within the first few minutes. However, that doesn’t mean there are no more offers to avail, as brands promote pop-up flash sales throughout the next day. Be patient and keep a look out for these mini-sale events that feature cheaper deals. Keep going even after the first few hours, as brands will promote flash sales to move their inventory before Cyber Monday ends.