Confession: as a shopaholic, I have really mixed feelings about Cyber Week. While I can’t deny that Thanksgiving seems completely overrun with sales and ecommerce, I also can’t deny that this is truly a great time of year to shop for the holidays and for yourself for the months ahead.
When recently asked what I would focus on for Cyber Week shopping, I was stumped at first. There’s just so much! But, I gave it some thought and did a little research and today am providing some guidance and insight on how I would shop Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the days before and after that that somehow make up Cyber Week.
GO FOR BIG TICKET ITEMS
For myself, this is when I look for bigger ticket style or beauty items. For example:
- Over the knee boots: hugely popular right now but can be pretty pricey even for a midrange pair. Stores like Nordstrom have a ton of OTK styles on sale. Their Black Friday deals actually start on Thursday this year, and rumor has it there will be an additional percentage of selected sale items. I got these Marc Fisher OTK boots (below) at Nordies and this similar style is already on sale!
- Hair styling tools and products: so expensive otherwise, but good tools can make all the difference in your style. This would be a great time to purchase a nicer wand, a fancy dryer, or a bundle of styling sprays, lotions, shampoos and conditioners. I recommend reviewing Sephora, Ulta or Gilt (already offering an extra 40% off sales) for deals.
STALK YOUR USUAL HAUNTS
Then, I get a little opportunistic and head to my go-to stores for the items I know I’ll love and will fit and would probably pay full or semi-sale price for anyway. Why not get an even better deal during cyber-time?!?! 40% off seems to be the current norm for deals, and then most are going to give you an additional percentage off sales. A few of my picks are in the shopping slider below! For me, those stores I’ll stalk are:
- J.Crew – already offering 40% off full-price purchases with code THANKU, as well as an additional 40% off sale.
- LOFT – already offering 40% off everything with code GIFTITUP, as well as an additional 40% of sale items. They are also offering dollar-for-dollar LOFT cash notes in $50 increments.
- Nordstrom – Black Friday deals start online on Thursday, with a lot of items already on sale – I got all 4 pairs of these shoes in the pic below on super sale already! This is a great place to get markdowns on great brands like Top Shop, Free People, Madewell, Vince Camuto and Sam Edelman(all links to their current sale items). Like all the other stores, they will probably offer an additional % off sale items, too! You can sign up for their emails now or just pop online while you’re digesting all that turkey!
- Banana Republic – already offering 50% off full-price purchases and will likely offer more deals than that on sale day, plus additional percentages off of sale items!!
Hot items like ruffled sweaters (from J.Crew below), sparkley and velvet pieces for New Years (both from LOFT below), winter coats, hat/glove/scarf sets, and booties (all from Nordstrom below) are what I’ll be looking for – both for myself and for the people on my gift list.
GO FOR THE GIFT SETS
Okay, okay I guess some of you probably want to score gifts for friends and family during cyber week, as well. Go for the gift sets! These are already priced well and below value, so if you can snag them on sale, even better. A few of my choices are below!
-
- Baublebar: I’ve already seen some beautiful earring sets with a jillion pairs of sparkly or tassel earrings at 30% off (ends TONIGHT!) – keep an eye out for more deals like this. I wear tassel earrings almost every day!! They are such a fabulous way to tie any outfit together.
- Ulta and Sephora: Check these sites for daily flash-sorta sales on specific items. I’ve noticed they change up the deals on the regs with some AWESOME gift sets like lipstick samplers, fragrance packs, and sparkly shadow sets. Beauty advent calendars are one of my faves, like this Clarins one above. These are always such a hit for the ladies in your life because it’s a new little surprise gift every day!
P.S. I’m working on a series of gift guides for the holidays so please stay tuned. I’ve created a holiday section on the blog where I’ll publish my gift guides, and tune into my Instagram stories where I’ll be capturing my Cyber week steals, deals and ideas!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL – I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU!
