Black Friday isn’t even over yet and you’re already thinking about the deals you might be able to score on Cyber Monday— you get top marks, shopping genius! My favorite part about the online-only retail holiday: You don’t have to leave your couch (and since your pants are probably still unbuttoned from Thanksgiving, that works!). But unless you have a perfectly edited shopping list—with well-researched coupons that you already know exist and can be applied—it can be tough to keep tabs on the range of savings that are out there to be had. Things move fast.
The old-school method: You pick a retailer, then Google your face off for promo codes that are a) valid and b) shave a few bucks off the total in your shopping cart before you check out. Or you can try a different tactic: Web browser extensions that do the work for you. Here, my top three.
Honey
All those time-consuming coupon searches you were doing before clicking buy? Honey does the work for you. Simply add the free extension to your browser toolbar (it works on Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Opera browsers), then when you get to the checkout window of a retailer’s site, click the Honey icon to find out what deals are immediately available to use. You’ll see a progress bar as the extension gets to work testing out promo codes—old and new—to find any savings that can be applied to your purchase that day. It works swiftly, too. You’ll know if there’s a promo code in a matter of seconds and feel comfortable that every corner of the Internet was searched. I recently saved a whopping $78 on a Tiny Prints order using a coupon I didn’t know existed, courtesy of Honey. You’ll also earn cash back at stores Honey supports (think Target, Macy’s, Walmart and more) when you create an account.
RetailMeNot Genie
RetailMeNot just launched Genie, a extension that’s a lot like Honey in that it finds, combines and applies savings at checkout earning you as much as $30 back—and sometimes more—in one click. Right now, Genie works with specific retailers to maximize your savings like Target, Ulta, Neiman Marcus and more. The extension works on Google Chrome only, but is expected to expand to other browsers soon. The ease of use is the same as Honey and you’ll love watching savings appear like magic in your shopping cart.
Piggy
Once you install Piggy in your browser (it works with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari), then let it sit idly in the background as you shop ‘til you drop on Cyber Monday. Hit a retailer that Piggy supports and it will automatically get to work scrubbing the web for coupons and savings you can use, cancelling out promo codes that offer minimal savings in favor of others that offer you a much better deal. Even better, if you create an account, you’ll earn cash back at retailers that Piggy is affiliated with (which gets interesting if you’re buying, say, a TV from Target).
Proof Cyber Monday doesn’t have to be hard.
Ready to shop? Let me know if you install any of these browser extensions and how they work!
