Shopping Scoop: How to Save This Holiday Season

Nov. 25, 2006 — -- With the holiday shopping frenzy in full swing, shoppers want to know how and why they can get the most bang for their buck. Retail analyst and shopping expert Lori Wachs answered all of your questions in an online chat, giving her tips on how to make the most out of this shopping season.

Q: I'm about to embark on a shopping trip and I'm wondering, do you think small, independently-owned boutiques have better sales than big department stores? My town has a lot of small retailers that sell really cute stuff, but I'm wondering if I'm really getting the best value for my money when I shop there. Do department stores tend to mark things down more than small stores?

A: As you get further into the season you might want to turn to the boutiques, but at the start of the season the department stores are more likely to be more promotional early on.

Q: A store like Kohl's seems to have a sale every day. How do you find out what the best prices or sale is for that store. I went for lowest prices of season one week, then next week there was 50 percent off. Seemed almost exactly like same prices.

A: Stores like Kohl's operate as every-day promotional retailers with over 80 percent of what they sell done at sale price. While it's difficult [to tell] which is going to be the ultimate sale, since they largely sell apparel and other soft lines, it's a pretty safe bet that the closer you get to Christmas the more promotional they're going to be. However, they're more likely to have sold out of the hottest items of the season.

Q: Are there any benefits to using debit cards over credit cards? What about cash? Is one better than the others?

A: Debit cards are great for the financial discipline that they impose because you can't spend money that isn't there. However, when it comes to purchase protection you can't beat credit cards, as they often provide theft protection within the first 90 days and provide extended warranties for many products.