Martin Lewis has revealed the best time to buy Christmas presents in the run up to this year’s big day.
The British money saving expert, 52, said that now is the best time to start the festive shop and warned against waiting for last minute pre-Christmas sales – during last week’s episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV.
Martin urged penny pinchers to take advantage of Black Friday deals, telling viewers they could save an average of 10 per cent more than waiting on last minute bargains.
Black Friday is the annual money saving month with brands across the globe reducing their prices for a limited time. This years’ savings day falls on Friday 29 November.
Pre-Christmas sales are usually referred to as Boxing Day sales, which take place just before the big day – and can be a tempting option for last minute buyers hoping to save on gifts.
During Tuesday’s episode last week, Martin answered a viewer question on when is ‘the optimal time to buy Christmas gifts’.
They asked: ‘When is the optimal time to buy Christmas gifts? Often I find items are discounted before I even give the gift. And are gift vouchers to be avoided?’
He revealed that the ‘optimum time to buy Christmas presents is in January’ but explained that utilising Black Friday deals could also be cheapest for keeping a close grip on the purse strings.
Martin Lewis (pictured) has revealed the best time to buy Christmas presents in the run up to gift buying bonanza
The British money saving expert, 52, said that now is the best time to start the festive shop and warned against waiting for last minute pre-Christmas sales – during last week’s episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV
‘Generally, January sales are cheapest. Two ways to do that, buy them very early or give someone an IOU if you’re brave enough and say I’ll buy it once the price is lower then we’re not held hostage by this retail festival that we seem to live in.’
Offering a more ‘practical response’, Martin then revealed a side by side comparison done on 50 items to deem which is the cheapest time to buy – Black Friday or the pre Christmas sales.
The money saving expert revealed that ’70 per cent of items were cheaper on Black Friday, 12 per cent were cheaper on pre-Christmas sales and 18 per cent were equal.
‘So if you’re going to be buying for Christmas, Black Friday is the time to be buying.
‘I know it gets bad mouthed but if you get the right item and it’s something that you needed, it is the time to buy.’
His top tips for making the most out of Black Friday deals. He urged shoppers to check prices on desired items immediately
‘Then when it comes to Black Friday, you’ll know if the ‘discounts’ are really cheaper. Check prices at the retailer you were planning to buy from, and do a wider price comparison using free tools, such as Google Shopping, PriceRunner, PriceSpy and the Amazon price-tracking tool CamelCamelCamel.’
He also noted that a product won’t necessarily be cheaper just because it’s Black Friday.
Martin urged penny pinchers to take advantage of Black Friday deals, telling viewers they could save an average of 10 per cent more than waiting on last minute bargains
Black Friday is the annual money saving month with brands across the globe reducing their prices for a limited time. This years’ savings day falls on Friday 29 November
Last year, the price comparison website PriceSpy, revealed that 22 per cent of products were cheaper at the beginning of November than they were on Black Friday.
Martin encouraged shoppers to check if retailers will march prices. For example, the electrical retailer Curry’s vow to offer refunds on products that come up as cheaper following 2 December.
Meanwhile, John Lewis have a ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price promise which means shoppers can claim the difference of any product if the price it was sold can be beaten by one of it’s 25 competitors – within a seven day period.
He also suggested checking for ‘added benefits’ if retailers are selling a product for the same price, since one may offer free delivery or a warranty.
Martin said customers should ‘make the most of extended return periods’, by routinely checking to see if a products drops in price. If it does, customers can return the item and buy it again for a less.
Last year, the price comparison website PriceSpy, revealed that 22 per cent of products were cheaper at the beginning of November than they were on Black Friday
He revealed that the ‘optimum time to buy Christmas presents is in January’ but explained that utilising Black Friday deals could also be cheapest for keeping a close grip on the purse strings
Though the expert pointed out that retailers are legally obliged to refund items because ‘you’ve changed your mind’ and said customers should ensure they have checked store policy thoroughly.
During the same episode, the viewer also asked whether gift vouchers were a good option for Christmas presents, to which Martin was skeptical.
‘As for gift vouchers, I’m not a fan. Two reasons: One they have use by dates people don’t know about, which means they’re not valid. Two, if the company go bust they are worthless.
‘So obviously, Amazon is very unlikely to go bust but if a local restaurant is giving gift vouchers, there is a real risk with that.’
‘I’m not a big fan of gift vouchers unless it isn’t going to go bust and you tell people the use-by date,’ Martin said.
Data gathered by Martin’s MoneySavingExpert team also revealed that the purchases made after Christmas Day were notably cheap than both Black Friday and pre-Christmas, with an average discount of 17 per cent across the 50 items.